Original Crisis
by The Tyrant Hamster
Summary: The story of a new, yet ancient, deadly, yet ridiculous threat, not only to the cast of Devil May Cry, but the whole fandom, and the unlikely heroes who fight to thwart it and save us all.
1. Original Crisis

_**Author's Notes:** This is a DMC-based series mixing action, adventure and humour as well as parody which I'm writing both as a gift to my excellent friend bustahead, and a test of my own writing skills. Originally it was hosted on her account but for various reasons we decided it was best I put it up myself, so I made my own account and here it is. This story revolves around a very different threat to the series' cast, and I'll be the first to admit this is a strange work and also know OC-based series are looked down upon by some. All the same I ask hopefully that you give it a chance and even if you don't like it leave a review with some constructive advice so that I may improve, and other than that I hope you enjoy my work._  
----  
Blades clashed at inhuman speeds in a whirlwind of metal and sparks, moving like liquid electricity through air and rain which seemed to hang suspended in comparison.

Standing behind the duelling weapons were bodies in equally constant motion, two mirror images, looking exactly alike yet dressed so differently. Each of them gave no quarter to the other as they spun and struck, faster than any eyes but their own could see.

Finally their weapons came together so fiercely they were driven apart, heavy boots grinding across stone as eventually friction brought them to a halt, a sizable gap opened between them. They were each panting despite themselves from the exertion of facing their ultimate equal, their brother, their twin. A rare pause was forced on the battle, but even in this moment the brothers would not cease their conflict, battling with words if not weapons.

"Why do you refuse to gain power?" the blue-cloaked man challenged. He looked for all the world just like his brother, his usually spiked-back hair washed to hang limp around his face by the heavy rain, "The power of our father, Sparda".

The other warrior was dressed in a red trench coat that mirrored his brother's and yet opposed it, casually stylish where the other's was of refined class, his naked torso exposed by the open front. He scoffed with disinterest. "Father?" he said simply, shrugging his shoulders slightly as if discarding any burden of responsibility, "I don't have a father. I just don't like you, that's all".

With that exchange, the physical battle resumed, the blue-cloaked warrior rushing forwards with katana held out wide. His opposite charged to meet him, heavy blade scratching up a trail of sparks against the rain-slicked stone beneath. The battle was intense and yet it could not be eternal, and just as assuredly as neither warrior would relent, so too was it certain that one of them had to fall. Fate demanded it.

But tonight, on this tower built to link twin and yet opposite worlds, Fate was not the only player watching this game between twins, themselves opposed, unfold.

As the two brothers closed on one another, mighty swords each ready to cut the other down, a blinding beam of light pierced the darkness and lanced down from the stormy sky. It struck the exact middle of the tower between the duelling devils.

Neither sibling would be deterred by what appeared to be a freak lightning strike though, and both of them kept stride as they drew together. When the beam winked out of existence an instant later though, a figure remained where it had struck the tower's summit. Their appearance looked likely to be a brief one as they had picked perhaps the worst place in all the world to quite literally drop in, the deadly blades Yamato and Rebellion arcing round to clash once again with no regard for the collateral damage caused.

However as a wise soul once said, appearances can be deceiving.

As the two blades swung round with enough force to cleave stone in two, the unknown figure raised its hands slowly, almost languidly. A playful smile danced over its face, and with absurd ease, caught the swords, halting their momentum without flinching.

An awkward silence hung over the scene, a moment frozen in mute disbelief, until the quiet was broken by the enigmatic intruder. "You boys shouldn't fight" her voice was melodious and sweet, yet almost artificially so. Like sugar-infused candy it had a subconsciously forced, fake quality to it, undetectable except under close scrutiny. Her body was one of purposeful, almost designed elegance and feminine grace. She was tall for a woman, though not overly so, and had a slender, hourglass figure complete with enticing hips and full, voluptuous breasts, and a face of prime youth that looked incapable of aging. This less than modest body was clad, scantily, in a shimmering ruby dress that somehow managed to reach her shoulders despite the generous exposing V at the front and downright charitable one at the back. The colour also perfectly matched her perfectly manicured nails, naturally. Her eyes were the kind of blue that wished very much to be mistaken for the ocean and her hair looked like it was striving to be considered to cascade like a waterfall reflecting the sunrise.

As absurd as this all seemed, there she stood regardless, holding the blades of Rebellion and Yamato as casually as a book or purse.

"Brothers should get along and play nice, why don't you come with me and we'll play together and be happy for ever after?" she asked cutely, turning her big, pretty cerulean eyes from one twin to the other. As she said this her voice sounded at once youthfully playful and yet doused with suggestive potential, as if she was indefinitely about to reveal an amazing secret.

If at this point you feel you can take no more, despair not, for the brash Dante shares your sentiment. With a rough jerk he pulled Rebellion free of the stranger's grip, leaping back through the air. Replacing the sword on his back he drew his beloved handguns Ebony and Ivory in one fluid motion. "Jeez babe, didn't anyone tell you it's rude to talk with your mouth full?" he snapped off rhetorically, aiming at her head and firing. After all, _nobody_ interrupted his fight with Vergil, no matter how bizarre and insane they were.

The girl merely laughed however, casually throwing the Yamato aside, along with Vergil who still gripped it, as she turned to face the younger twin. "You'd be surprised how much I can fit in my mouth" she winked suggestively, raising some serious questions over the speed of bullets verses the speed of human speech. With a gentle flick of her head she sent her golden hair sailing forwards and in a moment that would have given shampoo advertisers the need for a very long, cold shower, the sunshine-yellow wave deflected the bullets harmlessly aside.

Dante's mouth hung open, the talkative half-devil temporarily speechless at this development. Before he could find his tongue his wind left him, forcefully driven from his body as in a blur the woman was in front of him in the air, delicate hand now a clenched fist and buried in his stomach. With the grace of a cannonball Dante sailed down into one of the statues lining the perimeter of the tower's summit, halting his descent but shattering to rubble in the process.

His assaulter on the other hand landed with an easy grace; almost daintily even, placing that same hand that had floored the powerful son of Sparda over her mouth and giggling playfully. "Aww, baby all tired out? Maybe next time we'll just play dress up, hehehe-" she laughed childishly, that is until she was cut off by an enraged cry.

"Absurd fool!" Vergil shouted, standing several paces behind the girl, Yamato raised and hovering in deadly poise. The woman turned and raised one immaculate eyebrow quizzically, Vergil's disgusted snarl the opposite of her innocently curious expression. "I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here... Now LEAVE!" the elder Sparda said. Unlike his brash brother Vergil had analysed his opponent and did not intend to underestimate her.

Without warning he charged forwards quicker than the eye could see. The distance between them evaporated as he brought Yamato round in a slash so vicious the blade sung as it parted the air where she had been standing.

Vergil blinked, and upon feeling a gentle tap on his shoulder turned round, face first into a hand which for all its delicate appearance, slapped him almost out of his boots. The blue-clad devil was sent zooming horizontally into his brother who had just struggled to his feet, felling both Spardas as the girl chuckled, "I like you, you're _feisty_".

The twins lay gasping in a heap, Dante groaning for Vergil to get his elbow out of his eye, the two struggling to their feet as the woman advanced. They raised their weapons shakily, eying this mysterious being with confusion and serious concern at the dangerous extent of her unexplained, preposterous power. Striding forwards, she smirked darkly in a way that would have sent shivers down the twins' spines if they had allowed it.

"By the way" she said coyly, lazily raising a hand and twirling her fingers in a small circle. "My name, is Mary Sue" and with that a storm of dark energy erupted from her hand, rushing towards the brothers.

And in that moment the sons of Sparda were vanquished, not slain but bested by an evil entity of perverse, inadequately explained and cliché Über power that could bring even the mightiest of canon characters to their knees. Now unless unlikely heroes could rise to defeat this unlikely threat, the entire fandom and its beloved characters would never be freed from the curse, of Mary Sue...


	2. Unlikely Heroes

_**Author's Notes:** Having introduced the threat we now meet the unlikely solution. Arson and Reiko are property of bustahead used here with her most kind permission and Zone is my own original character who is sometimes featured most generously by my friends in their stories. "----" indicates a scene change of sorts, and other than that, please give the characters a chance and enjoy :D._  
----  
Not so far away from the monumental events taking place upon Temen-Ni-Gru, a vampire was changing diapers.

Now, you might think this a bizarre thing for an undead bloodsucker to be doing, and this vampire would readily agree with you. Even though he'd been doing it for nearly 5 hours now, he could scarcely believe it himself still. In an effort to distract himself from the rather unpleasant task at hand, the undead creature thought back to the events that had put him in this situation.

It had been a good deed; he sighed, and instantly regretted the aroma the action brought to his attention. But it was always a good deed, with him, to shoulder the burden of others. It involved one of the young vampires who he sort of looked after, making sure they didn't do anything stupid like deliver paper rounds to the wrong churches or take their romantic interests shopping for coffins at normal retailers (good, upstanding undertakers who liked good, down-lying end customers, rather than ones who perused and tried before they bought, which unnerved most so much that even the industry-unique prospect of repeat custom rarely bought off their concerns).

A young vampire called Vlad, though whether that was his real name or a stylish one he'd adopted he wasn't sure, had startled a mother and her child in the park. He'd just not been looking where he was going, but the mother had gotten _distressed_, and said things, harsh things that had gotten Vlad _upset_, and things had gotten _complicated_, police had gotten _involved_. All in all the reminiscing vampire thought, the italics had had a Hell of a party that night and he had footed the bill.

Through hasty negotiations, disaster was averted, and the whole thing settled with a nice easygoing community service charge on Vlad. The only remaining problem was Vlad had had a rough time of it and it was perhaps best that he had a little alone time from humanity, just to cool his head. And so our current undead fellow had stepped up to cover it for him. It was only 10 hours, but still he thought the risk of Vlad getting landed with an irritating job that might incense him into some foolish act was too great.

He had turned out to be painfully correct.

So it was that this vampire, who had the name of Reiko, had come to his present situation of changing dirty nappies at an infant day-care centre. It would be a good time here to go into further detail on this individual, as he is in fact a fairly important person, and not just in the immediate sense of infant hygiene.

Reiko was, and still is, a vampire of pale complexion and dark dress. His black-brown hair hung in a crown of draping blades around a face which was darkly handsome, matching his muscled, built yet taught body. His clothing consisted of fairly casual if buckle-belted trousers, a shirt, an open-fronted coat and shoes. All in all it was a fair dress code that fell well within everyday standards, and just all happened to be black.

To this macabre if stylish collection had been added a rather detractingly plain and cheap white apron. While it was nearly the ultimate antithesis of every ounce of cool in Reiko's clothing, he wouldn't discard for blood, and this is a vampire we're speaking about here. For while it was tacky, and plain, and boringly white, it was his one cherished defence against the produce of his gurgling charges.

Now one might wonder what Reiko was doing here, not so much here as in changing babies' nappies, but here in this story, and you'd be well within your rights to do so. The reason, as some might have guessed, is because Reiko is that most controversial of beings, an Original Character (Exemplar Creatura). Viewed in many lights, heretics against the canon characters to some, and the cornerstone of fanfiction for their ability to support and flesh out the world beyond its official limitations to others. But none of this mattered to Reiko too much as between this and being a vampire, it was water (not holy mind) off his back as he was used to being misunderstood and hated on principle.

What mattered to him right now was getting through the day, as while he was actually extremely fond of babies, spending 5 hours dealing with the worst a lot of them could do was beginning to test his affection. Sighing, he nearly wiped his forehead with a hand, thought better of it, and moved on to the next child. As he did the infant's fat, smiling head lolled to face him, and Reiko stopped in his tracks, seeing the look in his eyes and the bulge in his nappy.

That look, he knew that look, he thought as his complexion further paled slightly. He'd spent enough time around them to recognise the look of a _predator_, the look of a being witnessing a victim walking haplessly into its lair, its trap.

Resigned to his fate, the vampire was unexpectedly spared as suddenly a sound reached his ears, one of salvation, a melody of mercy. It was the sound of the shift change bell. A rarely bright smile crossed his face as he walked right past the disappointed infant, throwing away the disposable apron and looking forwards to fresh air, home, and bed.

----

At the house to which Reiko the vampire, finally freed of his diaper-changing duties for the day, headed and called home, a scene of infernal carnage was unfolding.

The resident family had been happy, at first. Their new home was a nice, functional yet comfortable house. But ever since they'd moved in things had been getting, strange. Each day they woke up to find more and more of the furnishings of their abode replaced with wooden substitutes. It had been manageable, at first. For example though the husband had been fond of the glass and metalwork table, the wooden one that had one day taken its place without explanation sufficed.

But it had reached the point where the new appearances didn't even serve the purpose of the things they replaced. Such as the wardrobe that now stood where the shower had, and as if to add insult to insanity, faced the wall.

The wife had tried to cope when without warning the vacuum cleaner would take off through the ceiling while she was using it. Their only son had tried to be brave when, huddled up in his Sonic The Hedgehog covers at night, his dreams were filled with an accusing voice yelling "FAKER!". The increasing number of fireplaces in the home and tendency to find more and more useful kitchen units like the fridge replaced by overabundant ovens hadn't helped either.

It had all seemingly been building to some foreboding, unfathomable culmination, a day of reckoning, which had finally come.

Now the family ran around in mad panic as their overly wooden home was consumes by flames spurted forth from the numerous ovens, fireplaces and other agents of incineration. But there was nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. So starved (for the fridge had been replaced by an oven), exhausted (for the beds were now tables) and generally deprived (the toilet and shower were a wooden coat hanger and wardrobe respectively), the family collapsed, and were consumed by the flames as the vacuum cleaner circled above them like a vulture.

Reiko opened the door and stepped inside the house, slipping off his long coat and hanging it on one of a few pegs on the wall. With a soft sigh he walked into the lounge of this place that was effectively home. It was in fact a house he owned the deeds to which he used as a base, place to be found and to host acquaintances and friends visiting while he was in the Devil May Cry fandom, such as now.

Entering the large, cosy lounge he saw a familiar figure hunched in front of the TV, PS2 controller in hand. Walking over Reiko crouched down by the brown-haired youth intently focused on the screen. "What are you playing Arson?" Reiko asked, only mildly curious but sociably taking an interest. Arson, the hyperactive teenage devil-angel hybrid, who was like Reiko also an original character, swung his head round to look at him and yapped an eager reply. "Hey Reiko! I'm playing The Sims" he said eagerly, nodding vigorously and then tilting his head at the screen.

The vampire peered at it, and just made out a bizarre house of wood, a lot more wooden things inside, and an absurd number of cookers and fireplaces. Just made out not for any lack of vision on the vampire's behalf mind, but because it was hard to see through the rampant inferno engulfing the place, and its residents as well he noticed.

Were he speaking to almost any other person, he might comment that things didn't seem to be going so well. But glancing into the excited eyes of Arson, he could see that the seemingly naive hybrid had surpassed the principle goal of the game. Rather than raising a family successfully (as opposed to cremating them), he'd found a higher purpose, to have fun. It was a skill the seemingly innocently clueless teenager had a knack for, in his apparent stupidity often stumbling across a higher, greater cause.

Reiko gave a small grin and patted Arson on the shoulder gently, leaving his friend to enjoy the game with an "OK, have fun then". The happy hybrid nodded, returning his gaze from the screen, where proceedings were reaching a toasty crescendo, yelling back a friendly "Am doing Reiko sir!".

The vampire stood again, turned on his heels and walked out, aiming for the stairs at the back of the house. He chuckled ever so slightly as he heard Arson begin to sing behind him, "This fire is out of control, we're gonna burn this city, burn this city!". Despite the fact that the hybrid had managed to start fires in a full bath before and was a walking hazard come natural disaster waiting to happen, there was something endearingly fun-loving about him, even to the brooding-prone vampire.

----

As the weary vampire ascended the stairs and the excitable hybrid enacted his own twist of the family barbeque, a third and final individual dwelt within one of the bedrooms upstairs. He was currently in an unusually relaxed and happy mood as he lay on the bed, reading a book and greatly enjoying the content. Reaching the bottom of the right-hand page, he turned to the next one, having to stand and use both his upper limbs to do so, before lying down again.

The reason for this is that this final original character is a hamster, a Syrian or "Golden" hamster to be precise. His name is Zone, and he is a white and golden-brown furred rodent, roughly six inches from nose to stubby, nearly nonexistent tail, and all modesty aside damn cute every bit of the way.

At this point, the reader might find themselves questioning the validity of the story, and feel urged to point out how ludicrous having a hamster in a tale of demons, devils and vampires is. If they did however, they would have to put up with a smart-assed abusive retort from Zone. The rodent would with little refrain snap back that he did not ask to be born such a limited being, and furthermore that he'd be damned if he'd be held back or give up a single goal of his for his mostly disadvantageous birth circumstances. So it was that many people's first impression of Zone was a cute, cuddly furball but little more, which was swiftly followed by a revaluation force-fed by the rodent's sharp tongue and almost limitless cheek and cockiness.

For you see, Zone is a truly ambitious rodent; he is fuelled and driven so much so that even his severe natural handicap does not deter him. He has a quick wit, a fast tongue, a smart mouth and a generally cocky attitude, all of which he is ready to employ to prevent people dismissing him as merely cute but otherwise useless (he was also not above abusing his cuteness if it would get him results, after all he reasoned, if he had to live with the many limitations of being a hamster he'd be damned if he wouldn't utilize the few benefits). The rodent was not without his flaws, humility came hard to him and he was prone to tread on toes, to stretch the saying, in pursuit of his goals. But while he was well aware he had his faults and made his mistakes, had to make great efforts to overcome his limitations and sometimes did things he regretted accidentally or carelessly, he would not give into the adversity and also he would star in this story, damn it.

However for the moment that charged, energetic side was dormant as Zone lay on his stomach on the pillow of a bed and read his chosen material eagerly.

Slowly and quietly the door swung open as Reiko entered the room. He'd picked the first bedroom from the top of the stairs, which just happened to be the same one Zone had chosen to relax in. The hamster looked up curiously, and seeing it was only Reiko he gave a quick nod before returning to reading. He was too calm and engaged to start a conversation that would most likely lead to non-serious taunting and banter; such was the enduring yet erratic friendship they shared.

The vampire however didn't notice the nod, in fact he didn't see the diminutive rodent whatsoever. Such was his urge to rest that his mind had reached the bed before his body, and he was already letting his senses turn off as he slouched forwards, intent on toppling onto the bed, completely oblivious to its small occupant as he collapsed like, well, like the dead.

A shadow fell across Zone and his book, and with mild irritation he looked up, intending to tell Reiko to get out of his reading light. He stopped short however when he saw the vampire tumbling towards the bed, turning slowly as he did, his head unknowingly angling straight for the prone rodent.

With a cross between a worried squeak and an annoyed curse Zone jumped up, easy for him since he had been lying on his front, and made to dash for a minimum safe distance. He almost made it, too. But though he got out of the way of Reiko's descending head, now facing the ceiling, he ran right over the book he was reading to do so. And just as he was about to make it off the other side of said book, Reiko's head hit the pillow and the bottom of it, making the opposite end jerk up.

The agitated Zone was catapulted in a small, tumbling parabolic arc, rolling his eyes and muttering at NC-17 level, straight towards the vampire's yawning mouth. With quick reflexes, the rodent put his four limbs out spread-eagle and caught himself facedown on Reiko's face, just short of being lodged in his throat.

Reiko's senses and alertness jolted back to him in an instant as something small and warm landed on his face over his open mouth. Reaching up to grab it in case it was dangerous, his fingers brushed soft fur, and a moment's confused thought revealed to him that for some reason Zone was lying over his open mouth. The vampire wanted to say something regarding this, but even if he could have done so without compromising Zone's position, the rodent beat him to it.

"Damn, you're just _dying_ for a _suck_ aren't you Gay-ko" Zone asked rhetorically, scoring a nice two-hit combo with dying and suck on the vampire and feeling secretly proud of his quick innovation. Reiko for his part rolled his eyes at the immature remark and considered rebuking it. However he didn't want to risk getting a mouthful of Zone, even if the rodent was in fact very clean and hygienic. Instead he wrapped his hand around the hamster's midsection and lifted him off of his mouth, just as Arson came into the room.

"Hey Reiko sir..." Arson bounced in full of a worrying kind of cheeriness, and we mean worrying like a kid enthusiastically playing with a sparkler in a fireworks factory. He trailed off however when he saw the compromising position the other two had gotten themselves into. After a moment's hesitation he averted his eyes, giggling into his hands "Hope you're using protection".

"You're the one that's going to need protection!" Zone snapped as Reiko ferried him from his mouth to the bedside table, the hamster irked at having his own innuendo and insult turned against him. "That one really fell flat" the vampire commented on the sub-par rebuke from the rodent, setting him down as he did. "Oh, cram it Dorkula" Zone replied, doubly annoyed that the vampire was right and that he couldn't think of much of a redeemingly witty comeback either. It wasn't fair he thought, a minute ago he'd been reading peacefully and now he had to have top-level material ready? "Tough crowd…" Zone muttered to himself.

Meanwhile Arson was trying to do a dance and cast the Protect spell from Final Fantasy on himself in misinterpreted response to Zone's threat. The hybrid managed to walk into the door upon completing the routine. Feeling the full impact of it he was convinced it was a magical door, since Protect halves physical damage. Not wanting to go hand-to-knob with a mystic portal right now, Arson quickly chirped out "Something's on TV Reiko sir!", and holding onto his shoulders, ran on the spot for a moment before escaping the room.

Zone and Reiko watched him go with equally perplexed expressions, and shook their heads in perfect sync without realising it. Reiko got up after a moment and went to head downstairs to the TV, after all if something had held Arson's attention long enough for him to deliver that message, it was probably at least somewhat important.

Before he left though his eyes caught sight of the book Zone had been reading, and scanned the cover with raising eyebrows. "Bazookas?" the vampire inquired, quoting the title of the book. Zone glanced at it, after a moment saying "Yes, that's its name" with more confidence than he felt. Lazily Reiko picked it up and looked closer at the front.

The cover was mostly filled by a slender, curved human woman barely achieving decency thanks to a huge rocket launcher covering her chest and everything between her legs, which she had wrapped around the thick, hard length of the weapon, the name-play in the title obvious.

Reiko listed off some of the promised content of the book out loud, "Nuns With Guns, The Best Thing About Big Barrels, 20 Best Firing Positions..." he quoted in a formal tone. Zone tried to look completely unphased and indifferent, and thanks to his fur covering the slight embarrassed blush creeping through his cheeks at the compromising evidence, pulled it off pretty well. "I like guns, so?" he challenged before Reiko could open the book and scan the contents page.

The vampire gave him a disbelieving look, but the hamster was stalwart and met the gaze unblinking and unflinching. After a moment Reiko rolled his eyes fractionally and placed the book back down, "Nothing". "Well, good" Zone said, not sure how to consolidate his minor victory without sounding overly jerk-like, but thankfully Reiko was already back to wanting to know what Arson wanted him to see.

After Reiko closed the door, Zone let out a relieved phew and rubbed his face with his paws to work out the tension. To his vexation vampires were naturally gifted in staring and while Reiko hadn't been going all out on him, it had still been hard facing down the potent evidence against him. Looking at the book, he decided he'd come out of that one well after Reiko caught him reading it, all things considered.

Besides, the honest truth was the rodent _was_ really into guns, technological ones most of all, like lasers and stuff, but he had plenty of respect for say, a good solid rocket launcher. He couldn't help that the best firearm publications had a thing for splashing naked females all over the juicy merchandise any more than motoring enthusiasts who had to put up with women sprawled all over the front of sexy new cars. Zone was a warm-blooded male, albeit a six inch tall, furry one, so admittedly he found the women, a nice touch. But nonetheless, if he could wrap his tiny paws around something between those pages and give a good, firm squeeze, it'd definitely be a trigger, _definitely_ he told himself mentally...


	3. No Laughing Matter

_**Author's Notes:** Chapter 1 introduced the problem and chapter 2 the cast of sort-of-heroes, so now chapter 3 can set things up for the plot main to get moving. Sorry it's taken a little while to get going, I just wanted to establish things firmly and hope it pays off and proves to be worth it (plus in DMC3 itself the first 3 missions are like an extended introduction, hehe).  
----  
_Downstairs in the house, Reiko entered the front room and walked to Arson who was sat much like before, in front of the TV. The hybrid waved him over excitedly as he did and Reiko knelt on one knee to see what it was the hybrid thought he should see to badly.

"YOO-HOO! Jester here with the latest smashing news, mommies and daddies, gather the kids round, this one's for the history books!" the deranged and delighted clown-faced reporter yelled on the TV.

Reiko resisted the urge to flinch and groaned instead, holding his head in his hands for a moment. Jester appeared to be in a helicopter, although the demented fool (literally a fool, or clown) was so close to the camera it was hard to tell. Reiko could not stand Jester, he was loud, stupid, annoying, and only got the job as a news reporter because he had a supernatural gift for getting to where the action and story was, and _fast_.

Well, not _quite_ the only reason, the vampire added mentally, glancing sideways at Arson, who could have been said to be glued to the screen if he wasn't bouncing up and down so much he was practically vibrating. As one of the only living creatures as hyper as himself, Arson loved Jester, and he wasn't the only fan of the popular clown demon, which Reiko found both confusing and a little worrying. Hoping Arson wouldn't break anything since it would make it harder for him to watch Jester, Reiko returned his attention to the TV.

"Oh yes kiddies, this is amazing! Even the devil children were no match for it, coming from the skies, an alien being interrupted the duel between our favourite half-devil twins and took them both prisoner, hahaha!" as Jester laughed and danced backwards, Reiko now able to tell the helicopter was circling near the top of the Temen-Ni-Gru.

The vampire was now paying (un)deadly serious attention, if what Jester said was true, this was no common occurrence, but a serious problem. "In mere moments our captive audience will get to be the audience to these two captives as we try and see just who has snared the sons of Sparda so easily" Jester's voice had dropped to that fake conspirator's whisper that was twice as loud as most people's regular talking (thus about the half as loud as his).

Without warning he screamed back to full volume as he swung into the camera face so violently Reiko recoiled as if fearing he was going to somehow be kissed by the maniac. "While we wait please call into our pole on what the first question put to this unknown invader is, the current top three choices are 'Ask for its autograph', 'Ask how much it wants for the devil children' and in top place my personal favrioute 'Do you spend a lot of time with hot men on top of tall, sturdy shafts', hahahahaha!" Jester danced about, moon-walking across the ceiling before pausing with no respect for gravity and saying abruptly "And now, over to my co-host".

Reiko sighed in relief, immensely grateful the moment that clown's face and voice were pulled from the screen. They were replaced by a much more sombre, serious figure behind a desk, although a mercifully muted live image of Jester was still playing on a screen behind him. Reiko liked Jester's co-host much more (or disliked much less), he said so little that it was easy to pretend he wasn't there, a welcome break from Jester who made Reiko wish he wasn't there.

"Yes..." said Arius simply, trying to let the word trail off ominously, but not doing a very good job of it. He coughed, and continued, "Something fell from the skies today. It landed on Temen-Ni-Gru's top, where Dante and Vergil, the sons of Sparda were battling. It appears to have defeated and imprisoned them both". This was the most Reiko had ever heard him say and the sorcerer was clearly taxed by the verbose speech, downing a full glass of water thirstily. In the background, Jester appeared to be hanging upside down from the camera and trying to fence with it using his massive tongue. Arius grunted as a sort of verbal full stop, and said "Back to you Jester", turning and seeing at last what his counterpart was doing behind his back.

A look of grief and anger crossed the sorcerer's normally expressionless face, and with a sudden access of emotion, he cried out "I was going to be _KIEENG_ of this world!", collapsing into a sobbing heap on his desk just before the camera cut back to Jester.

"Ooh, looks like Arwy-warwy has a boo-boo on his heart, send him some fan-mail will you viewers?" Jester chuckled just as the helicopter crested the summit of the demon tower. It circled round and the demonic fool once again put on his loud whisper, "Now lets see who our delightedly uninvited guest is, and hope they brought their passport, customs round here are the very devil, hahaha!". The camera was given a little space by the clown and focused on the summit of the tower, and they saw.

Jester, Arius, Reiko, Arson, and anyone else following the broadcast, they all saw. And of all the watching world, very few recognised what they saw. One of those few, was Reiko. "Mary Sue..." he choked out, the already pale vampire turning near-albino as horrified look crept over his face.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who knew the true nature of the being standing and waving innocently, cutely even, to the helicopter, like a child at an air-show. After some exchange Reiko missed, the camera returned to Arius. "Mary Sue is a parasitical organism which seeks out vulnerable fandoms and infects them, intending to drain all the energy, creativity and life-force from them" the aged sorcerer explained, for while he was a complete pansy, he seemingly did know a thing or two about lore and ancient evils after all.

Reiko was horrified, and to add to it, he now looked appalled too. "A deadly alien virus that fell from the skies and wants to suck all the life out of this world, is this a Final Fantasy VII fanfic now?" he scowled irritably. Arson, looking a lot calmer and not moving his eyes from the screen, remarked off-hand "Well that game is pretty much the biggest source of blind fanatical fanboyism and fangirlism ever".

Reiko paused, and turned his head slowly to look at Arson, the hybrid looking back at him after a moment, noticing the vampire staring at him quizzically. Arson gave out a weak chuckle, then threw on a manic smile, yelling out "I hope Jester asks her the question I voted for!", nodding so much his hair flapped like a baby bird trying to leave the nest prematurely. Reiko eyed him suspiciously for a moment longer, but now wasn't the time to try and understand Arson, even an undying vampire didn't have time for that.

Reiko stood up swiftly, having heard all he needed to, and walked across the room, Arson turning and following him with his eyes. The vampire stopped at a cabinet at the back of the room, and opened it. It was where he and Arson kept most of their weapons. It was nothing fancy, just like a place to hang your coat really, this was a place to put your swords, guns, whatever your preference.

As Reiko picked out his personal weapon of choice, a metal bo-staff about as long as he was tall, Arson got up and wandered over. "Whatcha doing Reiko sir?" he asked innocently, although secretly he already knew, but it still seemed best to ask. After a moment's hesitation, the vampire simply replied "What I can Arson", twirling the staff casually though expertly to shake the dust off. "You're gonna go? Won't it be dangerous?" the hybrid pursued curiously. "Yes it will, but I'm going to try and help, I owe Dante that much at least" Reiko said, turning from the cabinet again, trying to remember where he put his overcoat.

"Can I come too?" Arson asked innocently, causing Reiko to pause in his tracks across the room to the front door, and the coat stand. "Arson, it will be extremely dangerous, I don't know if I can even do anything, I'll try, but it doesn't matter much, if I don't make it..." the vampire trailed off, not turning to look at the hybrid as he spoke.

Arson understood. He knew that while his friend fought for what he believed in with true spirit and passion, one thing he didn't believe in was himself. The vampire didn't care much if he died fighting for a worthy cause, as his unnatural life just wasn't such a cause, Reiko felt.

Arson understood this perfectly, though he didn't let it show, but he also knew that _he_ cared if Reiko died or not. After all, all differences aside, they were friends. So if Reiko was going to risk himself for something this dangerous, Arson was going to help him the hybrid decided. Of course, he knew it would be hard to convince the vampire of this, since he cared a lot more for his friends than himself. But that was just too bad, Arson thought, smirking to himself behind Reiko's back.

"I'm coming too!" he yelled childishly, stamping his foot then turning and reaching into the cabinet, drawing out his twin swords Phoenix and Dragon, normally flaming, though passive for now. Reiko turned, a look of surprise on his face, and Arson glared back at him defiantly. "You're not having fun without me, I want to go to the party too!" he yelled stubbornly, crossing his arms, swords tucked round his sides.

Reiko opened his mouth to protest, then sighed instead. He knew Arson, and he knew that while usually whimsical, he could be utterly stubborn on rare occasions, and this showed all the signs of being one of them. He didn't want to endanger the kid, but he also didn't have time to persuade him to stay. Also he added thoughtfully, for all his immaturity Arson could handle himself in a fight, Reiko suspected even more so than himself.

"Very well" Reiko relented, then gave a small smile, "You can come to the party" he added, playing along. This prompted Arson to whoop and jump about in joy, before stopping and following Reiko out the door as they headed for the Temen-Ni-gru. On the way the hybrid set his swords on his back in little holders on his coat, and the vampire grabbed his own coat, putting it on and placing his own weapon securely on his back.

Vampire and devil-angel hybrid stepped out the front door together, and turned to look determinedly at their destination, which was visible for miles. The demon tower, Temen-Ni-Gru, tall, dark, ominous, and with a comparatively tiny helicopter buzzing round its summit like some kind of mechanical flea.


	4. Sibling Rivalry

_**Author's Notes:** A small break to keep in touch with the canon characters, after all while original characters can be fun I know people come to the fandom to read about the canon cast at least a little :D.  
----  
_As Reiko and Arson made their way to the Temen-Ni-Gru, something most bizarre was transpiring atop the very same tower.

Mary Sue had finally stopped waving to the helicopter, and turned back to her captives. Vergil and Dante, bound and trapped in ropes of dark energy, distilled from the essence of negative reviews, sat in front of her. Between them lay a cute child's tea party table so hideously pink it would have turned Barbie gothic in disgust. "Alright boys, back to our tea party!" she chirped, the rival twins taking a break from staring daggers at each other to stare daggers at her.

Vergil had in fact literally stared daggers at her earlier, summoning his phantom blades in an attempt to strike her down despite being tied up. They had proved ineffective however against her dark defences, and she had threatened to punish him with something so severe, so horrendous, that even the elder son of Sparda had been cowed into not trying it again. Of course he vehemently insisted it was simply a waste of energy to reattempt when the attack was obviously ineffective. This sort of thing would have been delicious to Dante, only he wasn't having a fun time either, the evil creature humiliating him as punishment for his brash cockiness again and again until even he was biting his tongue, for the moment.

"Now, where were we? Oh I remember, Dante, you wanted some tea from your darling brother, remember?" Mary Sue prompted innocently. Dante glared. He remembered, it wasn't the sort of thing he imagined he'd ever remove the mental scarring of, being forced to play tea party with Vergil.

Turning to Vergil, Dante forced himself to ask "_Please_, may you _pass_... The _tea_, dear brother?", doing so in the same manner one might say 'will you please jump off a cliff?'. Vergil slowly lifted one arm, which was partially freed from its bonds for the task, and with iciness Cerberus would have been in awe of, poured first Dante then himself some tea.

Silently, the brothers drank their tea.

Mary Sue watched this with absolute delight; their tea party really was going great now. At first it had been a bit of a fuss she thought, what with Dante and Vergil bickering and fighting and trying to kill each other and her, but now they seemed to her to be getting into the spirit of things.

With a sudden wicked smirk, Mary Sue used a mental command to make one of the dark bands of energy tug at Vergil's arm, jostling it forcefully, and causing him to spill his tea over his face and neck. "Aww, was little Vergil careless?" she chuckled, Dante wearing a dark grin as he eyed Vergil over the rim of his cup, the younger Sparda suddenly enjoying his drink a Hell of a lot more for the show. With a motherly cooing, she bent over, pulling out a napkin from somewhere. She wiped down Vergil's face and neck, tidying him up like a baby, while he gave her a stare so venomous it could corrode steel.

When she was finally done, she dropped the napkin and stood up again, smiling. "There, all better" she stated happily, looking over Vergil in approval as the twin looked away from her in disgust, and caught his brother's sadistically delighted gaze. That was _crossing the line_, he thought to himself darkly. Vergil hadn't tried to kill Dante with his phantom blades while they were bound as it broke his sense of honour since he was defenceless. However he allowed himself to bend his code and summoning a tiny phantom blade underneath Dante's cup, he raised it mentally and tipped the remaining tea inside over Dante's naked torso.

Dante yelped, more out of surprise than pain, as his half-demon flesh could easily handle the hot liquid, but he hadn't expected it. The phantom blade dematerialised before Mary Sue could turn around. "Oh Dante, really, what will I do with you two?" she said disappointedly, and turned to pick up the napkin again from besides Vergil.

However by the time she turned back to the younger devil, she saw the liquid was actually evaporating off of Dante's skin, such was his fuming. Vergil too was watching with interest, and suddenly realising what was about to happen, braced himself as best he could. Mary Sue merely cocked her eyebrows at the silently raging half-devil, an intense energy seeming to build inside him so greatly it was palpable on the outside.

Suddenly, the build-up overloaded. An explosion of raw power ripped out of Dante's body, sending Vergil flying back on his side, the dark bindings around him thankfully taking the brunt of the force. The tea table and its contents simply evaporated where they lay as Dante Devil Triggered for the first time, and with a powerful DT Explosion to boot. Vergil sat up sorely, having been painfully close to his brother's newest and so far, most powerful technique. The younger Sparda had been due to unlock his devil's powers at the end of their interrupted duel, but it seemed in its place the tea party had driven him over the edge instead.

The transformed half-devil panted, still bound in dark energy, though the rush of power had catapulted him to his feet. With a fading, draining noise he dropped out of his DT, unable to sustain it as it was his first time ever after all, stumbling but managing to stay on his feet.

Mary Sue, who was coughing slightly and had backed off a little, but was otherwise unaffected by the blast, walked up to him silently. She glared at Dante, then slapped him once, snapping his head to the side sharply, "Bad Dante! You broke the tea party, you're getting a spanking for being a bad boy!".


	5. Party Crashing

_**Author's Notes:** Reiko and Arson reach the Temen-Ni-Gru, engage in a little combat, and receive some unexpected support, enjoy .  
----_  
At the base of the Temen-Ni-Gru, Reiko and Arson had just arrived at the front entrance.

That is to say, they could see the front entrance, but there was one small obstacle between them and it. In front of the large open portal into the tower, which for some reason was surrounded by an enormous puddle, were six Enigmas. These possessed statues were bizarre creations armed with bow-like energy arrow firing devices on their arms.

"Sentries..." Reiko mused to himself, knelt behind some debris with Arson. He figured they had been put here to watch for intruders besides Dante or Vergil, like Lady, or themselves. Using their energy weapons they could probably send a signal and call for a giant horde of demons as reinforcements if they spotted anyone. To either of the incredibly powerful sons of Sparda this was a distraction, but one they could easily handle, however to the less gifted vampire and hybrid it was a much more serious threat.

Reiko sat for a moment to think on a course of action, while Arson poked his eyes over their cover to have a look himself. Tilting his head he gave a confused look and mumbled "Didn't know stones followed the news". His attention caught by this bizarre statement, Reiko turned and leant round to see what he meant.

Several metres away from them, all six Enigmas were watching a newspaper blow through their midst with enamoured, rapt attention, as if it were the most amazing thing ever. The reason for this was that the statues had been stuck in the tower for 2,000 years, not moving, not even breathing (being statues), nothing changing for _all that time_. Compared to that watching a newspaper blow by was as utterly amazing to them as say, seeing two shooting stars doing it doggy-style across the night sky would be to a normal person.

Seeing their distraction gave the crafty vampire an idea, and double-checking there weren't any others lurking around, just the six of them, he turned to Arson. "Hey Arson, those statues are protesting against strawberries" he said calculatingly. This had the desired effect, the teenager's face transforming into an expression of righteous fury as he hissed "Those _malefactors_...". Reiko smiled slightly, having effectively motivated Arson, and held up a finger to his lips, "But we've got to make it a surprise attack". Nodding with furiously focused understanding Arson knelt down with terrorist poise as Reiko picked up a piece of rubble.

Back with the Enigmas, who had been so excited by the Flying Paper Spirit that some of them were spacing out, a sudden sharp noise caught their attention. Turning towards the tower they saw a chunk of rubble which had hit the ground and rolled for a bit before coming to a stop. Utterly captivated by this, the statues gathered round and tried to communicate with the newcomer, believing it to be alive since it, like them, was made of stone.

They were still inquiring as to the traveller's tales of strange lands when with a surging battle cry of "For Fragorum Fraga!", Arson came crashing out of the skies into them and _happened_, as he had a tendency to.

The Enigma he landed on was instantly destroyed by the cyclone of whirling flames, sharp edges and expressions of manic, fanatical zeal Arson had wound himself up into. As it crumbled to dust the last thought to pass through its mind was that this was the most amazingly exciting thing it had _ever_ seen!

As the hybrid leapt towards the next-closest target, swords stretched out like mantis blades with a yell of "Banzai!", Reiko, bo-staff in hand, circled round and leapt out at another Enigma. Behind their cover he had had Arson stand on his weapon then had basically catapulted him into the enemy group. After this he'd looked for the enemy moving furthest from Arson's wrath and moved to strategically pick it off.

Having calculated his position expertly, Reiko swept the legs out from under his target with one swing of his staff, then brought it round and stabbed it down into the torso of the creature, damaging the stone skin. Before it could gather itself, the vampire finished it off with a series of precise strikes to its prone form.

This caught the attention of another Enigma who turned and began powering up a salvo of energy arrows, aiming at him. With all his inhuman speed the vampire rushed the demon, which chose to stand its ground as it would easily be able to charge its attack fully before the distance was closed. Forming a volley of bright red energy shards, the demonic statue let loose on the closing vampire.

But Reiko had anticipated this and slammed on the brakes. Bringing his staff round, he spun it like a helicopter blade and deflected the entire salvo of arrows, leaving him unharmed and only a couple of paces from the vulnerable Enigma. He leapt forwards and twisted as the statue fired a weak desperation shot, turning around and evading the arrows, then drove his staff backwards into the centre of the demon. With a precise flick he lifted it up into the air and spun his staff, building momentum then smashing the Enigma clean in half with a baseball-style swing as it descended.

By now Arson had dismantled the second of his playmates and jumped towards the third, who fired a round of arrows at the airborne attacker. Arson didn't even flinch and in a move of shameless craziness Dante would have been proud of, caught the lot of them out of the air with his mouth, snapping out and grabbing them in his jaws like a dog playing Frisbee.

Crashing down clumsily on the disbelieving Enigma, he took the arrows out of his mouth with his hands and grinned an unnervingly helpful-looking grin. Shouting "You dropped these!", he proceeded to smack them over the statue's head, stunning it. "Littering fine, ten stomps!" he yelled without warning, and then began bouncing up and down madly, trampling the demon to death. "The environment strikes back" he remarked when he was done, pointing down at the remains of his opponent in moral triumph.

This left only one Enigma, which Reiko was dealing with. He had lured the statue into firing at him and then pole-vaulted the attack, and was now arcing down ready to hammer the demon into the ground and finish it off. However as his weapon came round in a brutal swing, the Enigma suddenly scooted backwards, narrowly avoiding the strike.

Reiko landed and cursed, "Cheap evasive manoeuvre" he growled as the statue began charging another volley. This wouldn't be a problem for Reiko to dodge, but instead the Enigma aimed upwards, intending to signal for reinforcements, and both Reiko and Arson were too far away to stop it in the moment it needed. It looked like they were in serious trouble now.

Suddenly Reiko's sharp eyesight caught a tiny orange and glowing-red blur rapidly descending towards the Enigma. With a cry of "Bulls-eye!", the form hit the Enigma dead centre in the eye, driving its lightsabre straight into it. Zone grinned triumphantly, hanging on with a mix of his climbing ability and using the lightsabre as an anchor, as the statue convulsed. When it stopped shaking he pulled the red energy blade out, then made two quick slashes horizontally and vertically, scoring an upright cross in the Enigma's eye.

The energy arrows died away to nothing, unfired, and the statue slowly toppled backwards, shattering as it hit the ground, Zone jumping clear just before it did. The hamster dusted himself down, coughing slightly from the dust, hoped it wasn't noticed, and slipped his lightsabre away to wherever he kept it on his person. He turned to face the gawking Reiko.

Smirking, the rodent savoured the moment. It was rare that he managed to achieve something impressive enough to truly astound the vampire, let alone so stylishly, and Reiko's temporary tongue-tied expression was like a medal to Zone, to be cherished and enjoyed.

"You know, we'll have to get you a collar with a bell if you can't go out for ten minutes without me having to come and save you" the hamster remarked with a wickedly cheeky grin. The silence having been broken, Reiko managed to recompose himself and looked at the rodent with an analytical, suspicious expression.

"How?" he finally said, Zone laughing happily and grinning up (way up, but it didn't bother him this time) at the vampire, playfully replying "How what? Come on, I deserve to hear you say it". Reiko hesitated for a moment, but whether or not the hamster did indeed deserve it, something he was in two minds about, he wanted to know. "How did you do that? There's no way you could jump that high, or overpower a demon just like that" Reiko didn't say 'because you're a half-foot tall ball of fur with a fraction of the physical strength it would take', but he didn't have to, it was obvious.

Zone grinned, or rather grinned wider, as he hadn't stopped the whole time. He was well aware of his limited capabilities and regrettable general puniness, but as said before he'd be damned if he'd let them hold him back. So having just slain a demon single-pawedly and possibly saved Reiko and Arson's lives, he was enjoying a nice sense of accomplishment and achievement, and rightly so he thought cheerfully.

"Aaah, well you didn't say please" he paused teasingly, "But I'll tell you one of them". Pausing again he pointed a paw past Reiko's shoulder, "See up there?". Reiko turned and looked, Zone pointing at the ruins of a building overlooking the entrance of the tower. "You guys had just vanished without me, so I came looking, and was climbing that to get a better view when I found you, so, I jumped down" Zone explained.

Reiko nodded slightly, that explained how the tiny mammal had got so high; he'd climbed. But the answer to one question raised another, and he turned back to face Zone to ask it. "Why did you coming looking for us?" he asked, Zone caught off-guard by that, coughing and mumbling "Cus..." hesitantly after a moment. Reiko waited, then replied "Because, what? Why should you care what's going on?", speaking somewhat bluntly, the subtleties of social interaction not one of his strong points.

Zone winced ever so slightly at that, it was barely a movement at all, but Reiko's sharp and focused eyes caught it. The hamster rallied himself though, and looked to the side with forced disinterest, snapping back "Oh like you'd understand... Anyway, I can't rule this world if someone else takes it over first can I?", the aspiring tyrant covering himself with he felt, a pretty good excuse.

There was an awkward silence as neither rodent nor vampire knew what to say, Zone wanting to ask to join them but not wanting to let his guard down to do so, especially after the harsh implication that he didn't care, and Reiko simply not understanding the hamster's motives.

Before it could grow too big, Arson broke it. "Are you coming to the party?" he asked Zone, who looked at him a little bemused before figuring out what he meant. "Uh, yeah. I mean..." he hesitated and looked back to Reiko, the vampire meeting his eyes curiously. "Can I?" Zone swallowed his pride and forced himself to ask, humility not easy for the rodent to adopt, as he hated the vulnerability of it, something he felt he had more than enough of already.

Reiko looked at the hamster critically. He was, he reminded himself, only six inches tall, a furry, and he supposed, cute and cuddy little creature, although he did have a razor-sharp tongue. But insults wouldn't work against demons and he feared the hamster could be easily killed if he came with them. Then again, he was a small target and easy to defend, and wasn't totally helpless either. After all despite his minimal strength he was pretty deft with his lightsabre and had just taken down a demon single-pawed. Plus Reiko considered, there was an unusual earnestness to Zone's request to join them, something he didn't witness from the rodent often. Lastly, however little he was, Zone was an individual and an adult, even if he didn't often act like it, and while Reiko had no desire to put the rodent in mortal danger, he and Arson were walking headfirst into it, so he figured Zone had a right to come along, if he really wanted.

"Alright, you can come" Reiko said finally, Zone letting out a breath he'd been holding all along in a tiny phew, somewhat relieved and glad to be accepted in. "Thanks" he replied with a small smile, and not quite sure how to elaborate he chose to leave it at that. The rodent wanted to explain his reasons for coming along and show his gratitude a little better, but he felt he'd gone through enough awkwardness and vulnerability just asking, and he had got what he wanted, so he left it. Reiko gave a small nod in return, then refocusing on their objective, turned back to face the entrance.

"We best get going" he said, Arson already splashing around and rolling in the puddle at the opening. Zone nodded back and followed, scampering along to keep up, crossing some rubble to avoid getting needlessly wet and taking cover when Arson got up and shook himself dry. As the other two fell in behind him, Reiko, who was sort of the leader of their unlikely trio, weighed their assets, figuring that even if it wasn't by much, Zone could only add to their strength and chances.

So it was that the hamster, the vampire and the devil-angel hybrid entered the Temen-Ni-Gru, walking into unknown danger together, an unlikely response to an unlikely threat.


	6. Deceptive Appearances

_**Author's Notes:** Another update on Dante and Vergil's suffering at the hands of Mary Sue, please note that I've got nothing but love for both sons of Sparda and all they go through is purely in the name of humour (as well as a parody of how their character can suffer at the hands of Mary Sues, plus don't think the original character cast is going to have it easy XD).  
----  
_Returning once again to the summit of Temen-Ni-Gru, we find Mary Sue, Vergil and Dante left alone, Jester's helicopter (which actually belongs to Arius) having gone to refuel. This had left the three with a little privacy, which she had quickly taken advantage of.

"Oh Dante, yes!" Mary Sue cried out in enthralled delight, beaming ecstatically down at the still-tied Dante, who did not share her happiness. Dancing round him, she clapped happily at their latest success.

She had managed to fit the younger half-devil with an absolutely precious (or so she thought) bright pink bonnet, with a white daisy in it and everything. Dante had been extremely uncooperative but she'd got it on eventually, and as he scowled she pinched his cheek and told him how adorable he looked. The red-and-now-pink-clad male was livid. However, he managed to lift his mood somewhat as his eyes drifted over to Vergil, the sight of which caused him to smirk even in spite of his current situation.

Dante had refused to cooperate with Mary Sue, and even with her powers she couldn't control him enough to dress him up fully. But Vergil, being a much more honour-bound person, had grudgingly allowed her to have her way with him, since she had bested him in combat.

And had her way she had, the elder Sparda's normal blue clothes and Yamato piled up neatly somewhere out of Dante's arc of vision. His twin was now dressed in a pink ballerina costume that took frilliness to a new level, and was holding onto a similarly pink dainty umbrella, and trying despite the near impossibility of the feat to look dignified, his expression set so rigid you could cast a mould on it.

There was something about the way the half-devil was holding his umbrella, though. He was using it to keep the light rain off, since even he could not bear the thought of being seen in a _wet_ ballerina outfit. But at the same time a subtle detail in the way his hand gripped it said that he would use it as surely and mercilessly as his favoured katana on anyone who tried to ridicule him.

But the Yamato had not deterred Dante before, and he'd be damned if he'd be put off having some fun now. "Those white stockings look great on you brother" he remarked. Vergil's eyes darted to meet his twin's, daring him to continue almost disbelievingly, but Dante was more than ready to do so. "No really, they match your hair" the younger Sparda laughed, Mary Sue looking over and nodding in oblivious agreement. The snow-white stockings she'd got Vergil into matched his hair wonderfully she thought, and contrasted just right with the black high heels she had him wearing too.

What had cracked Dante up most was Vergil was perfectly able to walk in his new shoes. Vergil insisted this showed he was a perfectly balanced warrior who could adapt to any handicap. Dante had suggested it showed he was gay, and one fight had already erupted over that which had left Vergil needing a new tutu and Dante with a high-heel shaped mark outlined on his cheek. The mark had now faded due to his inhuman heeling factor, though the humiliation of being floored with a projectile feminine shoe still stung.

Mary Sue was too busy admiring her handiwork to see the second fight brewing as Vergil clutched his umbrella threateningly, "I advise you shut up, _now_" he growled. Dante just gave one of his trademark impossibly irking grins and replied "Or what, you'll parasol me to death?".

That was all it took, and Vergil leapt forwards, battering Dante using the parasol with identical technique to how he wielded the Yamato, Dante yelling between hits that Vergil's prized blade was girly as Mary Sue tried to separate them.


	7. Violent Negotiations

_**Authors Notes:** A nice meaty action chapter, we've all seen and loved it when Dante rips through a horde of demons with stylish ease, but for characters less powerful than the son of Sparda it's a much riskier business. Thanks to my first reviewer Saddened Soul for the feedback, I'll try and keep the sentences from over-complicating and I'm glad you're enjoying the story :D, I hope this latest chapter entertains you and anyone else who reads it._  
----  
At the base of the Temen-Ni-Gru, the three unlikely heroes, a vampire, an angel-devil hybrid and a hamster, had just entered the tower. The heavy iron doors closed behind them with an unnecessary air of finality, considering they could walk in and out as much as they liked.

The room they now stood in was a tall cylinder, with stairs curving around and away from them along both sides, doubling back on themselves and zigzagging up the entire room as such. At the back was a statue of some kind of twisted angel, and a small glowing button-like platform lay in the middle of the floor.

The three looked around with interest, Arson admiring how high it went and Zone just enjoying the decor, while Reiko spotted something behind one of the staircases. He walked over to it, Zone and Arson following, the latter seeing how far he could lean backwards while looking up without falling over. They came to what could be described as an arcane elevator, tucked in neatly behind the left bank of stairs.

Uncharacteristically, Reiko allowed himself to grin as recognition dawned. He had not looked forwards to fighting a path to the summit as the son of Sparda had, as it would be time-consuming as well as even more dangerous for them than Dante. However as luck would have it, it seemed that on his way the half-devil had activated this elevator, which would take them almost all the way to the summit of the Temen-Ni-Gru.

"This should get us almost to the top" Reiko surmised, turning around to realise he was only addressing his furrier ally. "Where's Arson?" The vampire asked, Zone shrugging in response and the both of them looking round. Suddenly Reiko heard the hamster stifle a chuckle, and looked down to see him pointing a paw up to the room's higher areas, Reiko following the rodent's gaze into the seemingly empty dark space.

Unexpectedly Arson came tumbling out of the shadow-shrouded heights in ecstatic freefell, cartwheeling and doing all sorts of crazy aerial aerobatics stunts as he plummeted towards the stone floor. Zone had spotted him first since being so short he usually looks up anyway, and as they watched Arson crashed to the ground in a handstand, landing on the glowing panel. Grinning, he yelled out "Action replay!", and a moment later was fired meteorically right back up into the darkness, whooping and spinning nauseatingly.

Zone continued to laugh into his paw as Reiko sighed in exasperation and walked to the button. Watching Arson descend again, he judged the moment carefully and then caught the hyperactive youth's ankle in a flawless Dante mimic, suspending him dangling with his head a few inches above the magical springboard.

"What did I do mister lifeguard?" Arson asked, putting on a cute, innocent and wobbly-eyed expression. Reiko was used to this tactic however, and sternly replied "You can play later, Arson". "But it's fun" Arson whimpered, making the vampire try a different tact, since time was crucial. "True, but there's an elevator over there which is even more fun" he said, prompting Arson to lapse into an intense Zen-like contemplation, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he dangled upside down by one leg.

"OK!" The hybrid suddenly decided, smiling and nodding at Reiko, who smiled back encouragingly, glad they could move on. However before he could set down Arson away from the spring, the excited hybrid grinned wider and said "But one last go first". With that he reached down and poked the glowing platform with one finger, Reiko's eyes widening as a moment later Arson shot up into the air again, dragging the vampire along by the arm as he was still holding onto him. Zone, who was watching this from the lowest step of one staircase, fell onto his back laughing and holding his stomach. Eventually Reiko managed to remove Arson from his new toy and shepherded him and the still-snickering hamster into the elevator.

They took a little while to ascend the tall tower, which Zone secretly suspected had been the designer compensating. Finally they reached the top of the shaft and exited the circular vessel, Arson inexplicably spitting out a few pieces of some arcane device. Pausing a moment to admire the impressive shiny, golden-hued room they'd entered, they proceeded to the only visible exit. Arson in a fit of inspiration opened the doors, with his head, then held them open and bowed Reiko and Zone through like a top-notch door-waiter.

Slipping through after them the hybrid entered the new room last, which was a stark contrast to the bright gold-like one they'd just left. This room was dead, literally. It looked like some kind of bizarre morgue, strange coffins stacked on shelves in a semi-circle facing the three. Everything from the coffins to the stone was a skeletal-grey dead colour; the place was like the skull of a dead building.

Suddenly a distant moan disturbed the silence, and the three looked about warily. They were not alone.

Arson noticed it first. The door behind them seemed to shimmer, and suddenly a moving wall of screaming phantasmal faces appeared across its surface, a sliding montage of terror and agony. Sensing the threat he dove into Reiko and tackled him away from the door, just before the sheet of faces formed into a giant hand that reached out to crush their former position. Getting to his feet quickly Reiko saw the apparition dissolve back into a barrier, and suddenly realised Zone was unaccounted for. Worried something had happened to the small rodent, his concerns didn't last as he saw the hamster standing in front of the door and, laughing?

Sensing a soul before it, the hand once again reached out in an instinctual effort to snare it, only for the attempt to go clean over Zone's head due to his small size. "Haha, you guys suck!" the laughing furball taunted, recovering from his humoured incapacitation enough to stick his tongue out at the normally fear-inducing phantasmal force. Reiko just stared for a moment; he could barely believe it, Zone's cocky prowess and ability to mock or ridicule appeared to extend even to the supernatural.

Mentally brushing off the absurd situation, the vampire focused again and looked round, knowing the apparition was a sign, a trap set by demons to snare victims. Sure enough, as he reached for his bo-staff, Arson back on his feet with blades already in hand, demons began breaking through out of the air around them. Realising there were enemies to fight, Zone stopped toying with the door-spirit and ran between Reiko and Arson, drawing and activating his lightsabre. "Finally some real action" he grinned eagerly.

Hearing this, Reiko glanced down at the rodent holding his weapon in a ready, eager poise. The vampire was hesitant, sure Zone had taken out on demon with a surprise attack but this was a whole different ball game. "This is going to be pretty dangerous" he warned as the demons closed in on them. Zone looked back up at him, and after a moment gave a confident, eager grin. "Sounds fun" he replied surely, hungry for the challenge. Reiko wasn't very convinced by that, but he didn't have time to debate with the rodent, rather they'd find out the hard way as the humanoid, cloaked and scythe-armed Hell Prides attacked.

Reiko held his bo staff up, waited patiently and as the two demons nearest him lashed out, he shifted forwards and blocked both blades with each end of his staff. Spinning it he parried the attacks and lunged at the recoiling demons, knocking them back with a wide swing.

Arson didn't even wait, as soon as the Prides were in reach he leapt forwards right into them in a storm of blades and kicks. Catching them off-guard he ripped two apart before they could even gather themselves to retaliate with brutal tearing slashes, kicking another incoming blade aside by the handle and wading in.

Zone meanwhile, fumed. He supposed he should have seen this coming, but it still aggravated him that even though there were Prides who couldn't engage either Reiko or Arson for the press of their fellow demons already doing so, he, Zone, was being _completely ignored_. Spinning his lightsabre deftly and holding it ready, he growled "Ignore this", and charged the nearest free target.

The demon in question failed to pay any attention to the incoming rodent, but a sudden burning pain slashing up its lower leg managed to reorganise its priorities. Dropping to one knee it turned to look at Zone, who was now taunting it with some show-off sabre-twirls, before audaciously flipping it off. This sight was utterly bizarre to say the least, but Hell Prides are neither very normal nor very intelligent creatures, so any and all brief confusion gave way to insulted fury as the demon lashed out with its weapon. Zone jumped to one side, successfully dodging the strike, and the scythe rebounded off the stone floor. As the Pride reeled back from the impact on the hard surface, the rodent leapt a good couple of feet into the air and cut a slash across his opponent's gut with his lightsabre as he spun, landing neatly on his paws.

Zone was exhilarated, to him this was more than a fight, this was a chance to _truly_ prove himself. He was far from Arson or Reiko's strength and he knew it, though he wouldn't easily admit it out loud. However he did have a fair bit of agility and speed, which he honed with regular self-training, and was further aided by his low weight and small size. Also his energy-based weapon, which he also practiced hard and frequently with, relied on skill not strength. Between these assets, despite being a tiny, cuddly rodent, Zone was in fact a fair force to be reckoned with, though nowhere near his friends' ability of course. He'd been waiting so long to prove himself, to show he was more than empty talk and cocky bravado, and could fight and strive to accomplish goals. After all he believed, if you could do that, you could in essence, realise dreams.

Despite his confident front Zone had actually been worried he couldn't hold his own against these demons, but he refused to be cowed by that fear, and was now fighting and defeating it. The Pride lashed out again with a horizontal swing so as not to strike the ground. It was rewarded with a slash across one forearm as the rodent simply ducked under the swipe, making the limb go limp. Zone took this opportunity and jumped onto the scythe, scurrying up the handle on all fours as the blade lay against the floor, Zone's own weapon in his mouth. Before the enraged Pride could think of a way to stop him, the hamster leapt at its robes and hanging on with three paws, took his weapon in his fourth and slashed out at everything in reach.

With an unearthly groan the demon shuddered and fell back, starting to disintegrate into sand, defeated. Zone kicked off of its body and landed clear of the dusty mess, an expression of exhilaration and joy spread over his furry face. He felt _electrified_, the thrill of facing obstacles and challenges and the elation of overcoming them, driving towards great aspirations and goals, it was what he lived for, and he was actually _doing it_. Savouring the feeling for just a moment, the energized hamster eagerly rejoined the fray.

Meanwhile, Arson and Reiko were dealing with their respective partners in combat effectively, having taken down a few each already. The hybrid blocked three incoming scythes from the front with a cross-guard of his swords, and stepped on another one coming in and up from low down, pinning the blade to the ground. Sensing another Pride coming up behind him he kicked out and booted it in the masked face, knocking it back. Using the momentum he spun up and over the Hells he was deadlocked with, landing on one and impaling it into the ground with Phoenix. Quickly rising he deflected another incoming attack with Dragon and was driven back slightly, unable to properly brace against the impact. Focusing, he put the blades together horizontally tip-to-guard and channelled flames around the sharp edges, then ripped them apart, pulling from both ends like a Christmas cracker. A wave of fire tore forwards and cut one demon clean in two, flooring another one either side of it and immolating them where they lay.

Pausing to recover from the attack, Arson glanced over to Reiko, and saw that he was taking care of himself, the vampire ducking a slash and sliding one foot backwards, ramming his elbow into a demon approaching him from behind. Following up with a vertical thrust kick to the jaw he launched the failed assailant into the air. Spinning his staff to drive back the enemies in front of him, the vampire turned and swung it into the back of the falling demon. Something made a painful cracking sound as Reiko whipped the body round into the crowd in front of him, killing the thrown demon and flooring the rest. Not wasting the advantage he rushed forwards and rammed his staff into the chest of the nearest downed opponent, then literally kicked the wounded demon's head off. Moving on to deal with the rest he spotted Zone going the other way, glad the furball was still alive, and even it seemed enjoying himself, oddly enough. Reiko gave a small shrug and continued the fight.

The rodent was battling a Pride and to his extreme delight, actually driving it back. He had realised that while strong and fast, these demons were not intelligent or skilled fighters, but jailors who relied more on numbers and fear than technique to defeat their opponents. So Zone was goading the Pride into attacking, evading the blow, and landing a fast, light strike of his own as the demon recovered. Despite its repetitive failure the Hell just wasn't learning and kept repeating its mistake. Eventually it dropped to its knees as Zone jumped a scythe swing and with a show-off backflip, upwards-cut the latest of a dozen wounds into the demon. Unable to take any more it crumbled to sand before the ecstatically celebrating rodent.

As the hamster moved to another target, a Pride that Arson had just used as a springboard and flattened against the wall, The hybrid flipped backwards and while upside down, spun his body and blades round and created a small tornado of flame. The attack started several small fires in the group directly under him, and distracted them as he landed among their ranks, lashing out like a fiery buzz saw all around him. Several demons were reduced to flaming dust and one was ejected from the group with a powerful kick.

The burning creature went sailing across the room, only to be axed-kicked from the air by Reiko. The vampire had jumped over a slashing scythe, stomped the head of its owner and used it as a platform for elevation. Seeing the projectile Pride coming towards him he'd acted, slamming it down into the ground and destroying it. As he landed he used his staff to vault himself forwards into a shoulder-ram, tackling another demon back. He let go of his staff, proceeding to break its body apart inside with a series of rapid, heavy punches to the torso. Catching the end of the toppling weapon in the arch of his foot he kicked it back up and spun, snatching it from the air and blocking another incoming attack.

Zone meanwhile was literally tearing apart his latest target. He'd scampered up its leg and before it could react cut right through the thin, bony knee, severing the limb. The demon had grabbed him but he had stabbed its wrist before it could squeeze him to death, making the demon recoil and throw him up. Landing on the Pride's back he'd evaded some grasps for him and, struggling to climb the thrashing form, had stabbed between the shoulder blades, if it even had those he thought briefly. The demon threw its head back and wailed in agony, giving Zone all the opportunity he needed as he scrambled up the back of its hood an scaling the top of its head, drove his lightsabre directly into the forehead of the creature's precious mask.

The demon thrashed spasmodically and expired, Zone hanging on so as not to be thrown off, dropping into the cloud of evaporating sand as a result. Coughing and waving his paws around to clear his vision, when the dust finally settled he found himself face to ankles with another Pride. The demon was bringing its scythe round in an uppercut-like arc, aimed to skewer him by the tip with deadly accuracy right through his furry torso. Time seemed to slow as the blade cleaved towards him like a pendulum of inevitability, Zone wide-eyed with mortal dread, but managing to raise his lightsabre up in a guard, not having time to evade, fearfully clenching his eyes shut and bracing with all his minimal strength for the strike.

The scythe swung round, and connected with the lightsabre, the rodent not standing a chance of repelling the strength of the demon. But the blade could not actually cut through the red beam of energy, so instead the hamster was catapulted into the air by the golf-like swing. Disorientated by his tumbling ascent, his whole body numb from the impact that travelled up his arms, Zone struggled to clear his head. Reaching the pinnacle of his journey the temporary lack of momentum let him regain his senses, and looking down he saw far below him Arson cutting through a group of demons like a spinning top, looking dizzy when he finally stopped and toppling onto his behind. As the hamster began to fall he saw Reiko battling a few Prides also, and with a glint in his eyes the rodent streamlined himself as he dropped towards that skirmish.

Reiko jabbed one demon in the stomach before pulling his staff back so the opposite end smacked into the mask of another. Having stunned these two threats he turned to deal with a third that had raised its scythe to strike him. However before he could act, for the second time that day his sharp eyesight caught a tiny orange and glowing-red blur rapidly descending towards his target. With a cry of exhilaration Zone zipped past the demon's head, turning and thrusting his lightsabre into its back. Swung round by this anchor he braced his hind paws against the creature's back as he abseiled down it, his momentum making his lightsabre tear down through its spine. The demon froze, weapon still raised, gave a spasm, and disintegrated, revealing to the vampire a proudly smiling Zone casually dusting himself down, looking very satisfied. Reiko stared, for a moment, then quickly turned and deflected the attacks of the demons he had stunned. They recoiled and suddenly Arson lunged out of nowhere and in a flurry of movement cut them down, a ripped piece of the demons' clothing in his mouth. The cloth turned to sand and made the grinning hybrid cough and spit it out as the vampire looked around, seeing that all the demons were vanquished.

"What a disco!" Arson remarked, which roughly translated as the hybrid saying he enjoyed the fight. "Oh man, that was so cool! How comes you guys never invited me to this stuff before!" Zone agreed, high on success. Reiko shook his head slightly, there was he admitted a certain thrill to a good fight, but it wasn't the point, you fought for something meaningful, not just for the sake of it. Then again, they were doing it for a cause, so he hesitantly joined in, giving a simple "Yeah" to Arson.

Arson nodded at him happily, "I got 16, how about you Reiko?" he asked out of curiosity as Reiko replaced his weapon on his back. The vampire tilted his head, doing a quick mental count, and replied "I got, 13", not being the kind to get a wounded pride over being outdone. Glancing down, Reiko noticed Zone's buzz seemed to have been dulled. Thinking it was because he didn't answer his earlier question, he tried to make amends by including him. "How about you Zone, how many did you get?" he asked, not knowing that was the very thing bothering the rodent as Zone looked at the floor and sheepishly mumbled "Uh... 4".

Reiko hesitated, seeing now why Zone had gone quiet, and trying to think of a response, since he for once hadn't been trying to put down the rodent. "Well done" he tried after a bit, Zone looking up at him and giving a half-hearted smile, thinking it was only pity-praise. Reiko thought a little more, then added truthfully "Pound for pound that makes you the deadliest of us". Zone perked up somewhat more at this, a genuine smile crossing his face. "Hehe, thanks" he replied, scratching his head and adding "I try".

Arson watched on silently as the two exchanged an actual peaceful moment of togetherness, without any animosity or awkwardness. "We should get going, time is vital" Reiko said after the small pause, Zone nodding in agreement. "Good point, plus I want to do that again" he chuckled, the two heading for the other door, the one they hadn't entered through side by side, the screaming face barrier now dispelled with the demons defeated. Arson trailed along, shaking his head and smiling amusedly, "Those two legitimately getting along, now I've seen everything" he muttered under his breath. Through the door they came to a T-junction, and went left since the path was inclined and rose that way, leading them to another door flanked by two short stone pillars with glowing blue skulls in them. Pausing briefly, Reiko admired the deathly motif, Arson the shininess and Zone the cool colours, then they open the door and passed through.


	8. My Kingdom For A Beta

_**Author's Notes: **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, they're much appreciated :D. In this chapter our group suffer a most unusual setback..._  
----  
Reiko's skin crawled, Arson's spine tingled, and Zone's fur stood on end slightly, the hamster quickly trying to brush it down before someone did something embarrassing like tell him how cute it was. Something out of place had happened when they walked through that last door. They had crossed some invisible threshold, though none could see it they all felt it, hence their various reactions. Surprisingly it was Arson who commented on it first. "Something's wrong" he said, glancing about cautiously.

He was right. They were inside a chamber of sorts, some wide, tall, dark room that stretched up and down into shadow both ways. A stone path reached across it to some stairs and a door on the other side, and another one split off to the right halfway, up some other stairs to another door, but this one was blocked by stone debris. In the middle of this suspended T-junction was some kind of strange stone construct that looked a little like a crane, facing the blocked door.

"Do either of you feel... Out of place?" Zone asked curiously, just then noticing the golden statue of a woman besides them and admiring it, wondering how much it would sell on eBay for. "This is wrong, this..." Reiko said, pausing as he tried to put his finger on it. "This is the wrong place, the door we went through, doesn't lead here, we're in a different part of the tower" he concluded, with absolute accuracy.

"How?" Zone and Arson asked together, their voices sounding a little strange in sync. "I think, we've walked through a continuity error" Reiko replied, Arson nodding sagely as Zone stared blankly. Finally the hybrid stopped nodding and tilted his head, "A what?" he asked, clueless. "A continuity error, when things happen out of sequence or places are mismatched. It must be Mary Sue, her coming here has damaged the stability of the fandom and caused fractures where things are reordered out of sequence, they can kill a good story outright" Reiko answered with a tone of ill omen.

"Turn back?" Zone suggested, not one to normally back down from something, but this seemed more like a detour and he didn't see any point in it. "We might not be able to get around it though" Reiko replied, pondering their options. Things were getting bad, this anomaly was a portent of such, "We should press on, the fracture should only be small this early on, if we get to the other side it should rejoin up to where we were and let us continue normally" he concluded. Arson nodded and Zone shrugged after a moment, "OK, I hope we got moved to a place with vending machines at least" he said, rubbing a paw through the fur on his stomach, currently standing on his hind legs. The hamster hadn't eaten in a while and wondered if the golden statue could be used to order pizza deliveries.

Reiko walked to the crane, and examining it, noticed three indents that looked just like something was meant to be placed in each of them. Turning next to look at the rock pile it faced, he walked up the small flight of stairs towards it. Resting his hands on a slab of debris, he gave an experimental pull. Reiko was inhumanly strong, but the rock didn't budge an inch, it was pinned by some chunks above it and the vampire knew even his and Arson's combined strength couldn't clear the path.

Reiko looked back at his allies, Arson hanging upside down from the stone crane and trying to remove the shiny device from the top, failing despite his valiant tugging. Zone was still sizing up the gold statue, Reiko glad he at least was looking at the whole thing, not just the chest area. Heading back down the steps he turned to the other door, which seemed to be their only choice. "We should check this way" he said, walking to the last option, the others soon following him.

----

One minute and one door later, the three of them were in the next room, and arguing. "For God's sake you glorified sock" Reiko yelled at Zone, "This isn't about proving anything, it's just about maximising our chances". "Shut up morgue mascot! I've proven I can handle myself, I want to do the fighting one, let Arson do skill, he's bouncing around constantly anyway" Zone retorted, the two staring each other down (well, down in Reiko's case), as Arson looked between them and sighed "This party needs more soda".

The room they were now in was like the one before, only the path reached the middle, then branched into three narrow stairways leading to doorways in the far wall. In front of the entrance was a pedestal explaining that each room contained a trial, which guarded some kind of key needed to advance, and in front of each line of stairs was another explaining the specific trial. The three challenges were wisdom, technique, which seemed to be something like skill and agility, and power, or fighting prowess.

They were going to do one each since time was of the essence, and Reiko had opted do to wisdom, which had met with no objections. However when he suggested Arson took care of the fighting one, Zone complained that _he_ wanted that one. Reiko had explained that although Zone had surprised them and proven himself a capable combatant for his size, Arson was the strongest in raw power and he should handle it. Zone had explained that Reiko and his reasoning could jump off the suspended path they stood on, he was here risking his life just as much as them, and he wanted to face this challenge and conquer it.

Arson meanwhile had quietly suggested a number of things that he thought could have improved the mood, including strawberries, party streamers, strawberries, TV, strawberries and now soda. He was about to give strawberries another try, since he was sure they couldn't fail to lift moral if properly embraced, when Reiko gave in and decided if he was going to convince the rodent, he'd have to do it on his level.

"Fine! Rock paper scissors, winner decides" he said, putting his hand out and down to Zone in a fist of challenge. The hamster put out his own tiny paw, "You're on!" he replied, accepting this ancient, honoured method of settling disputes. Arson stood besides them and took the role of bout-caller as he said "Ready, 1, 2, 3, lay em out!", the other two shaking their hands four times, and on the fourth showing their choice.

"Stone smashes scissors, Reiko wins!" Arson yelled, doing a little dance and presenting Reiko to the empty room. Smirking, the vampire nudged Zone with his fist, making the humbled rodent stumble a little, and simply said "Technique, alright?". Zone gave a brief glare of defiance, mostly for the knock, since he couldn't complain because that was what you traditionally did when stone beat scissors, but Reiko knew he could push him around, but Zone didn't want to admit it. He relented though, he'd lost fair and square, and sighed "Yeah, fine, you beat me". Reiko was glad to see the hamster had some sportsmanship, or sportsrodentship as the case may be.

Standing up he nodded to Arson, "You take power then", and glancing at both the others, he turned and walked swiftly up the left-hand stairs into the wisdom trial. Arson whooped and despite the lack of banisters to keep him from falling from the narrow stairs into the seemingly bottomless expanse below, ran and cartwheeled through the right portal. Zone watched him go, shook his head and shrugged, muttering "Eh, technique isn't so bad". Glancing at the steps before him he sighed in exasperation, "Stupid stairs" he added with a daft, sarcastic smirk, walking forwards and hopping up them one at a time.

----

Arson, who had rushed into his trial, found himself in a room similar to the others and yet, different, enhanced in certain fashions, some characteristics emphasized while others were obscured. The chains, the sharper angles, especially the two spikes jutting out higher than he stood in the square space he was walking into. The room was designed with a clear atmosphere in mind, and that was deadly, lethal, vicious.

As he strode on, the sound of stone grinding on stone could be heard, and the hybrid turned to see a heavy barrier rise to block his entrance, sealing him in the medium-sized square arena. In front of him another one rose up to cover the shiny object lying on a ledge Arson had been heading towards. On each of these new stone constructs was a dial, and since Arson actually knew vastly more than he let on, he recognised them as switches, which would activate with enough energy directed at them, kinetic or otherwise.

Suddenly demons began breaking into the room, Hell Prides and other sins, Arson drawing Dragon and Phoenix quickly. He noticed as each one appeared it was enveloped in a purple aura, and suddenly it clicked. Activating both switches would disable the aura, at least temporarily, and while it was active the demons would be much tougher. Realising this the devil in Arson smirked, narrowing his eyes as he held up his burning swords, a wicked expression on his normally childish features framed by the licking flames of his weapon. Since his friends weren't around he could really let loose, and the unbound hybrid didn't intend to touch the switches. Oh he was going to _enjoy_ this he thought, as with a cry of "Toys!", he leapt into the enchanted demons, and for lack of a better term, _happened_ to them.

----

Meanwhile in the trial of wisdom, Reiko was shaking his head in disappointment. "_This_ is the wisdom of the ancient ones?" he asked the empty room disbelievingly.

The clue inscribed on the pedestal before the stairs that led him here spoke of following the path of life, as an infant on all fours, then a man proud and upright, and finally an old man on his walking stick. The room he stood in had four ways out, including the one he entered from, one in each wall. His door had one red light over it, and then clockwise from him the others had two, three and four red lights over them respectfully. The answer was so painfully obvious the vampire half-suspected a trick, but he could see no other possibility. Walk the path of life, an infant on all fours, a man standing tall, then an old man with a walking stick. In other words, take the door with four lights, then one with two, then one with three, simple.

Still shaking his head, having been somewhat disillusioned with the so-called wisdom of the ancient ones, he walked to the four-light doorway, his mind all geared up to solve a challenging puzzle for nothing now.

As he followed the simple path, Reiko's thoughts, which were engaged and without a topic to focus, wandered to the situation in general, slipping into brooding as he so often did. The vampire realised this was the first real chance he'd had to think since everything had started, either fighting or hanging around the other two, who were distracting to say the least.

It was all so, vast and bizarre. This alien being, Mary Sue, had just invaded the fandom, defeated the sons of Sparda and taken them hostage. It shouldn't even be possible, _she_ shouldn't be possible, but it was, and Reiko knew what a dire threat she was to the entire fandom. Yet here they were trying to stop her, just the three of them, a trio of original characters against a primal force of evil corruption. Reiko knew why he was here. He was trying to help however he could, since even if he couldn't it was only his life at risk and that was worth any chance he could help Dante, he believed. But then the others had come along, first Arson, who despite their friendly relationship Reiko suspected kept things from him. The angel-devil was a cleverly disguised enigma, and the vampire knew he wouldn't reveal his secrets unless he chose to. Then there was Zone; Reiko had known the rodent for a while and had over time realised there was more to him than mere cockiness, and that beneath his smart-mouthed demeanour lay a decent soul. But he still didn't truly understand why he had come along, he speculated it was something to do with proving himself, or rising to the challenge of it, but he suspected that was only half of the hamster's motives.

Stepping through the last door, the vampire entered a room like the others, only this one had a stone plinth in the centre. Atop this rested a shining object, which Reiko stepped up to, picking it up and looking it over. It was a smooth, light blue stone vaguely round in shape. Figuring it was what he came for, Reiko pocketed it and turned to leave, still deliberating the dangerous insanity of it all and wondering how it would all end.

----

Next door in the trial of technique, Zone was laughing deliriously and trying not to laugh harder still.

Once he got up the stairs, he had found himself entering a long corridor, about 8 metres wide, 10 metres tall with a curved ceiling, and so long the far end was shrouded in shadow. Seeing no immediate threats he had advanced, only to be startled almost out of his fur by a sharp rushing sound. The sudden noise sounded like sleek, sharp metal slicing through air, and Zone's shocked imagination pictured a storm of razor sharp blades zooming from the dark of the hall towards him.

A very rodent-like fear gripped him, the diminutive hamster scared of being helplessly exterminated by something he couldn't escape or protect himself from. Feeling the creeping terror in his gut, Zone gulped, swallowed and despite it knotting his stomach, stood firm, paws clenched tight at his sides. Though he didn't let it show, this wasn't the only time this kind of fear haunted him. The primal terror of being powerless and vulnerable was one the small rodent in fact faced surprisingly often, to some degree or other. But though it could shake him to his very core, each time he was faced with it he would grit his teeth and resolve not to be succumb to it, to fight it, holding himself together with will alone against the ever-present urge and choice to give in. This time was no different, and Zone quelled his worry and panic, and waited resolutely to find out what this trial of technique would offer him.

When it came, the rodent was at first impressed, letting out a whistle of appreciation, before suddenly realising something, which leads us to where we found him, laughing somewhat uncontrollably. The reason he was so amused was this.

The trial of technique was to run the gauntlet of the corridor, which the rodent noticed now his attention was drawn to them, had holes in the floor, walls and curved ceiling at even, grid-like intervals. From these openings would jut long, hard metal spikes with enough sharpness and force to punch a hole right through any person getting in their way. The spikes came down the corridor in waves, one after the other, reaching between walls or ceiling and floor slightly over halfway, so that there was no one safe path through them.

The gauntlet was an utterly genuine and authentic do or die, run for your life affair, a legitimate death trap. The reason Zone was laughing so much was for the second time that day he had inadvertently exposed a _small_ oversight in the traps of Temen-Ni-Gru, which he demonstrated now.

Walking forwards without heed for the timing or pattern of the spike waves, the tiny, soft and cuddly rodent advanced into the teeth of the trial... And kept on walking unobstructed. This was because the spacing between one row of spikes and the next was several inches wide, nothing any human could fit through, but for the hamster, only six inches tall and a couple wide at best, there was room to spare. Also, the lowest wall spikes came out several inches above the floor, and if he walked on all fours they went safely over his head. "Oooh, irony" Zone giggled to himself daftly, having a wonderfully fun if immature laugh at the tower's expense as he walked casually down the corridor on all fours, heading for the shining object on a stone stand at the far end, its defences rendered useless by his small stature.

----

Arson whooped as he rode the demon around the room, having buried his twin swords through its back, he was using them for handles as he kicked and yelled like a cowboy. The Hell Lust galloped around the room madly in an attempt to shake him, but the hyper hybrid only gave a cowboy "Yeehaw!", enjoying the wild ride immensely. Finally the Hell Lust, weakened from the exertion and damage of being double impaled, slowed to a stop. Arson sat up as it did then planted his feet on its back, and channelling fire through Dragon and Phoenix, kicked off of the demon as it exploded from raw flaming power poured into its body.

Spinning around, the teenager landed with his legs split, one hand on the ground and the other behind him, holding Phoenix ready in an unashamedly stylish pose Dante would have given an ovation at, especially since nobody was there to witness it, which made it even more cocky. Arson wasn't a show off normally, but he'd had such a fun time cutting loose with the enchanted demons that he'd just been unable to resist.

Seeing the stone barriers drop, indicating he'd slain all the demons, he stood and dusted himself down quickly, putting his swords away and walking to the shiny stone that had been uncovered again. "Ooh, pretty" he said, grinning to himself as he picked up the smooth green stone, turning it over in his hand before turning himself to leave.

Outside the three met up again. Arson gave Reiko his stone, then Zone returned, making his awkward way down the stairs while carrying the red essence of technique in his paws, which like the other stones was nearly as big as he was. Reiko accepted it off of him, Zone unburdening himself of the awkward cargo thankfully, and the three returned to the previous room and the crane like device. As they left, none of them realised at the time the irony of how each of their trials had matched their personalities so fittingly after all, Arson's wildness, Zone's cockiness and Reiko's broodiness each accentuated in the challenge they'd faced.


	9. The Inevitable Cliffhanger

_**Author's Notes:** Very near to their goal now, there's just a few loose ends for Zone, Reiko and Arson to tie up before catching up to Mary Sue, Dante and Vergil, who meanwhile have their own issues to deal with. I'd like to thank every single reviewer I've had so far, I'm really grateful to you all, and a special thanks to Sin Oan for reviewing each of my chapters without me even having really met him, let alone asked. Thanks Sin, I'm hugely grateful for the honesty and effort put into your reviews, and while this and the next chapter were written prior to putting up chapter 8 so I would have a little leeway to continue writing while settling into university, your advice has been taken to heart and in future I'll try and keep your words in mind, I hope you and everyone else enjoys this instalment :)._  
----  
The trio were now back in the room with the strange crane like device. Reiko took the essence of wisdom and inserted it into what he had determined to be the correct slot for it. After several seconds of nothing, Zone chuckled. "Haha, your stone is a dud" he teased playfully. Reiko ignored him and took the next stone, Zone's red one, and tried that.

This did have an affect, the three looking up at the strange device on the head of the crane, which had begun to hum. As they watched purple energy coalesced around the front of the contraption and drawing to a single point, suddenly lanced out in a violet beam, striking the pile of stones blocking the door it faced, disintegrating them.

"Hehe, my stone was way more bad-ass than yours" Zone said, smirking up at Reiko. The vampire rolled his eyes at the cheeky rodent and nudged him gently with his foot, chidingly saying "Quiet you", while suppressing the urge to grin back, thinking the furball's attitude must be infectious. Arson was rubbing his chin, and at this point spoke up, "So wait, the fallen stones were part of the design of this place?" he asked.

Reiko looking at him and raising an eyebrow, realising he had a point; it was strange. "... That is bizarre" he said, rubbing his chin also, Zone looking up and smirking at all the chin-rubbing, chipping in with "Hey, this whole tower is". Reiko looked back down at him and after a moment nodded, "Yes, that much is true".

The vampire was about turn to leave when he noticed Arson had a sad, wobbly look on his face, a stark contrast to his previous observational sharpness. Raising his eyebrows at this in silent question, Reiko was answered with a whimpered "Do mine too" from Arson. Reiko looked down at his hand, still holding the hybrid's essence of fighting, and shrugged, figuring it couldn't do any harm. Lifting it up to examine it for a moment, he inserted it besides the others, completing the triangle, and waited to see what would happen.

After a moment, the crane-thing began making odd mechanical sounds, and its neck retracted in a jolty fashion, lowering the head with the device that had emitted the laser earlier. When the noise and movement stopped, Reiko reached up and gripped the thing Arson had been trying to remove earlier, giving it a gentle tug. It came away in his hands, and he pulled it down to examine it. It was some kind of cross between a gun and a gauntlet, curved surfaces of a black metal-like material around a socket designed to fit a hand.

"Artemis" Reiko spoke out loud as he recognised the weapon, which Dante must have left, probably not bothering to complete all three trials. It was a demonic energy gun, which fired homing energy arrows, but it only launched multiple shots if charged enough and was a very tactical weapon.

Looking up from his inspection the vampire noticed Arson's saucer-like eyes riveted to the gun, and suddenly got a bad gut feeling. "You should let me use this Arson, it's a very tactical, precise weapon" Reiko explained truthfully, after all it was an advanced tool, not a primitive gun, and he logically would be best able to employ it. Logic however wasn't one of the hybrid's strong points, nor was diplomatic phrasing one of the vampire's, as although he was being honest the way he'd said it hadn't sounded too convincing.

"Aww no fair, my stone got it, it's mine!" Arson whined in protest. Before Reiko could even reply to this, Zone cut in with "Hey, you guys know how much I love lasers, give it to me!", making up for his small size with loud demands. Reiko realised they weren't going anywhere fast like this, since their arguments were all based on very different points, and things could only be resolved with a method they all agreed on…

----

"Alright, three, two, one, go!" Reiko called, him and Arson shaking their hands and in Zone's case, his paw, getting paper, stone and scissors respectively. "OK, go again" Reiko said, a slight sigh creeping into his voice. The next game was an all-stone draw, and the one after that they all picked a different choice, again, a draw. On the fourth game they were getting a little impatient, none of them wanting to spend all day here, and they hurried up the round. "Three, two, one, go!" Reiko called, temporary games manager and custodian of Artemis until one of them won it.

He slammed down an open palm at the same time Arson did, paper on both cases, and he thought it was another draw for a moment. Then he looked at Zone's tiny paw. He thought he'd chosen paper too, but now he looked closely, the rodent had only two digits extended and as if to confirm it, a mad grin spreading across his face like a sunrise, only much faster and with even more beaming. "Hahahaha, yes I win! In, your, faces!" he yelled, jumping up and triumphantly chopping at the other two's hands in a variant of the scissor beats paper motion.

Reiko shook his head, looking at the weapon and its new, and he felt poorly suited owner. Then he realised something, and looking at Arson, the hybrid clocking on a moment later, and the two shared an evil grin. "OK Zone, you won, here's your prize" the vampire said, the rodent ceasing his celebrations. He looked up and managed a confused "Huh?" at their sudden, uncharacteristic cooperation. Then, before he could further inquire, Reiko placed Artemis neatly in the rodent's paws, who was several times smaller than it.

"He-!" Zone's cry of protest was cut off as Reiko let go, and the full weight of the weapon caused him to stumble, lose his balance and land smack on his furry behind. Kicking Artemis slightly aside, he looked up to see Reiko and Arson rapidly strolling up the stairs, the vampire calling back "Well come on Zone, bring your new toy, we've got to get moving", neither him or Arson turning so as to hide their snickering grins.

Growling, Zone grappled the gun and trying to drag it, pulled it painfully slowly across the floor for a few inches before snapping. "Oh that's it deadbeat and sugar high, you two are so dead!" he yelled, pivoting the weapon and aiming it at Reiko and Arson as they burst out laughing and broke into a run, reaching the door and opening it. The hamster scrambled into the gun and fired in their general direction, his attack striking the door as Arson yanked it closed.

Scowling the rodent backed out, looking at the door, the stairs, then to him heavy gun, then finally the door again. He was actually glad they'd left, otherwise they would have caught the grin he couldn't stop breaking out over his fuzzy features. They'd got one up on him, _just_ like he so often tried and sometimes managed to on them. "Cheeky asses... Hehe, maybe there's hope for them yet" Zone chuckled to himself as he started pushing Artemis again, secretly glad they'd done something the way he usually did, even if he was the victim. It felt like it meant they approved and found some worth in his ways, which was heartening.

----

Now we move up above the three unlikely friends and even less likely heroes. Above the laughing hybrid, amused and glad to see the other two getting along. Above the vampire who was thinking his furry friend's boisterous, smart-assed attitude might have some merit to it after all. Above the rodent confiding to the dark that having had one put over on him, he felt in a way initiated by the parody of his own cheeky style.

Above all of this, though not nearly so far as before when this had all begun, for the trio were closing on their goal, another three sat. Like those below them, these three had their differences, but unlike the other group whom, while far from a flawlessly harmonious union, were slowly developing stronger bonds together, these three were only growing more disdainful of one another as they spent more time together.

Mary Sue had tried to salvage the situation, but even her near-endless perkiness was wearing thin under the ceaseless animosity between Dante and Vergil. She had resorted to playing Monopoly, that so miss-advertised family and friendship-building game that starts feuds more often than brings it people together.

There had already been one major fight over who got to be the car, Vergil wanting it because it was classy and Dante because it was the closest thing to a motorbike. The resulting exchange had left Vergil with a tiny top hat indent, which was still visible though fading on his forehead. Meanwhile Dante, at the command of Mary Sue, had been forced to bury the dog player piece, no easy task on a stone tower, which in all the chaos had been decapitated.

While they were now past this one incident, the tensions that had fuelled it remained, and looked ready to boil over as Dante rolled the dice, moved, and landed on Mayfair. Vergil owned Mayfair, and Park Lane, and had a hotel on each...


	10. The Nature Of Conflict

_**Author's Notes:** Alright, here goes the big one, I've strived to include a balance of elements in this chapter, like humour, action, plot development and so on, so hopefully for example, the fight scenes won't drag out into mere slug-fests and be progressive and meaningful enough to be exciting. Any and all comments are welcome, this chapter was written a while ago in advance so I wouldn't leave the story hanging while I settled in university, but it still contains plenty of stuff I could use feedback on, so, with a big thanks to all my reviewers, Saddened Soul, Maria, Klaske, Bustahead of course, Sin Oan and hehe, Zone's fangirl, I hope you all and anyone else reading enjoys this :D._  
----  
Rejoining our three hopeful saviours, we find Zone has finally dragged Artemis up the stairs and got it through the door. Feeling the joke had lasted long enough, Arson offered to carry it for him and the hamster agreed, once he playfully made the hybrid promise not to steal it.

They now walked along a curved path between two sections of the tower, the chilling wind sweeping by and diving into the dizzying view and massive drop that beset them on both sides. "So how comes Dante didn't take this?" Arson asked Reiko, referring to the weapon he held for Zone. The vampire glanced over and shrugged, offering his best guess, "I think you needed all three essences to get it, I guess he only used two". Arson nodded, but Zone piped up then, "Hey, if he did the puzzle, how comes it was all reset for us? What, did someone replace the rocks blocking the door and stuff?" he asked, curious by nature.

Reiko sighed and looked back at him, not irritated, but just a little weary. He was certain they were almost at the top, and the press of immediacy weighed on him. "It was a continuity error, a glitch in the space-time fabric of the world, it's not supposed to make sense, it's broken" he explained, Zone nodding after a moment, at least now understanding why he didn't understand. "Artemis is unique, whereas those essence items and the stones and such aren't. I imagine if Dante had taken it we wouldn't have been able to or something, although that's just a guess..." Reiko added to try and make up for his slightly standoffish initial reply, trailing off when he realised he was overlooking his own advice and thinking too deeply into it.

They stopped at a divinity statue, where Arson gave Zone Artemis and he stored it for later, so he could collect it from any similar statue. This relieved him of the burden of carrying a gun he couldn't realistically use, although he was eager to study and learn from its design sometime, if he got the chance.

The hamster had just finished with the statue, wondering briefly if the other two heard the chanting music he did when he used it, when a powerful explosion rocked the tower. The repercussions assaulted them, loud noise buffeting their ears and a shockwave making them stumble. Zone was actually knocked over with a yelp of a squeak, but jumped up again swiftly, hoping nobody noticed his embarrassing slip up.

Regaining his balance, Reiko knew they were pretty much at the summit of Temen-Ni-Gru, where Mary Sue had Vergil and Dante captive, and that the explosion couldn't have come from anywhere else but there. Realising that there was no more time left, he threw open the door in front of them and bolted through, charging up the rising path that curved part way around the tower to the summit with all his inhuman speed.

Arson gave chase, breaking into a dead run. Zone, knowing he couldn't keep up with the hybrid let alone the vampire at their full speeds, made an impulsive decision and throwing his pride to the wind, jumped at Arson, grabbing the edge of his coat as he passed the rodent, who had been standing closer to the door.

Arson kept chasing after the vampire, who was actually faster than him, as they followed the anti-clockwise curving path round the tower to the top. He felt Zone scramble up his back and finally settle on his shoulder, and glanced sideways at the small rodent. If the situation wasn't so dire it would have been a touching moment, the closeness and mutual trust of Zone riding on Arson, being carried by him, and Arson letting him sit right by his vulnerable head and neck. But this was not the time for such sentiments, as several paces ahead of them Reiko turned and began to climb the flight of stairs leading to the summit.

"Well, this is it" Zone said quietly to Arson, steeling himself inside. For the tiny rodent it was strangely enough easiest to face the battle ahead. All he had to do was try his hardest and best, and not give up as long as he could keep going, such was the direct, uncomplicated way he viewed any challenge. Arson nodded, catching up to Reiko as the vampire slowed cautiously, nearing the top. "I know" he responded simply, his expression resolute, but behind it his sharp mind was working overtime, and it was concerned.

As he came up the last few steps between them and their goal, Reiko's mind was racing. There were so many dangerous uncertainties everywhere. For example, while the three of them had certainly grown closer while journeying together, they neither entirely understood one another, nor operated fluently as a team. That was a bad thing when facing a deadly enemy of unknown potential together, Reiko thought sombrely.

But the time was upon them, there was none left for hesitation or preparation, and together, Zone at the others' head-height thanks to riding on Arson's shoulder, they arrived on the summit of Temen-Ni-Gru.

The sight they were greeted with was at once an utterly unpredictable and truly fitting testament to all the insanity that had transpired since the beginning of the entire incident. Slowly fluttering down everywhere was coloured paper, tiny shreds of it, a strange parade-like artificial rain of confetti sprinkling the tower's summit. And in the middle of it all, stood Mary Sue, a look of one who has well and truly not simply lost their temper, but deported it, on her face. In her hands she held Dante and Vergil by their dark bindings.

The twins, tied up and near helpless, hung suspended in her grip by the shadowy ropes that bound them behind their backs as she held them both as easily as empty bags. She was now looking at the intruders on her party, which had already turned bad, with a cold hostility. They had she felt, chosen a very _bad_ time to appear uninvited. Examining them briefly, she saw one was clearly a vampire, and the other appeared to be a slightly strange teenager with some unusual features like red hair and a hamster sitting on his shoulder.

Normally she would joke with newcomers, tease or jest with them, or even invite them to join. But Dante and Vergil had worn down her cheeriness and she had finally snapped, she simply could take no more. So it was with an icy inhospitality that she demanded "Who… Are… _You_?".

Reiko had taken the situation in rapidly. Mary Sue's appearance suggested she was nothing but a doll-obsessed, attractive, yet vaguely artificial-looking, woman. But the incapacitated half-devils in her hands hinted at her true power. "We three... Are here to stop you" the vampire offered a little weakly, unsure quite how to refer to them collectively. Mary Sue raised an eyebrow, then the other in dual surprise as she peered around them curiously, wondering who she was missing. Finally she simply asked "Three?".

There was a short silence, then the overlooked character, Zone, broke it, and we're talking jumped and raped in a back ally, he really _snapped_ this silence with a vengeance. "Yes three, him, him and me, boobs for brains!" he yelled, pointing to Reiko then Arson, the former of which shook his head in dismay at the rodent's overly antagonistic approach. Arson merely blinked, a little taken aback, but he shrugged and figured that at least it got things moving, the awkward pauses hadn't exactly been enthralling after all.

Before anyone else could react to this, Vergil suddenly cried out in disgust, "Ridiculous! I _refuse_ to be rescued such a dishevelled rabble, especially one that counts a pet store novelty amongst their ranks!".

This comment provoked various reactions in those present, not least of all Zone, whose tongue was already tensing for a vitriolic retort. But, again before else anyone could do anything, Dante twisted and lashed out with a foot, catching Vergil in the midriff. This made Vergil cough up some Monopoly money, which Dante had stuffed down his throat after Vergil had refused to accept an IOU for the cost of Dante landing on Mayfair with a hotel. Recovering quickly, Vergil kicked back and hit Dante in the side of the head, making him sneeze out the hotel that had been on Mayfair, which Vergil had violently inserted up his nose.

This is the kind of thing that had pushed Mary Sue over the edge before, resulting in the earlier explosion, and once again she snapped at the twins' ceaseless fighting. "ENOUGH!" she screamed furiously, and then with a simple gesture, she hurled them both in opposite directions. Dante and Vergil crashed headfirst into, and demolished, two statues lining the perimeter of the tower's summit, knocking even them out cold.

Dusting her hands together, Mary Sue turned back to the intruding trio, who were somewhat unnerved by the display of power and immaturity they had just witnessed, a deadly combination. "Now..." she began, unnecessarily pausing to get their attention. "I have tried very patiently to get these two boys to play nicely" she indicated the knocked out Dante and Vergil, "But they refuse to get along like good brothers, so rather than just visiting, now I have no choice but to stay here and teach them and anyone else misbehaving around here how to act properly" she said. Reiko cursed under his breath, her mere presence was a threat to the fandom, if she remained here, then this world was doomed. Zone just pulled a face at her tacky dialog.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave now, madam" Reiko said after a short silence, stepping forwards and drawing his staff readily. He'd heard enough, and pre-fight cocky banter wasn't one of his strong points or interests, he'd much rather get just on with it if it was unavoidable. "Hahaha, and if I refuse?" Mary Sue replied, thoroughly amused and not at all threatened by this upstart original character.

Arson stepped up alongside Reiko, and drawing Phoenix and Dragon, took up stance besides his friend, and replied "Then we'll be forced to remove you, lady", his normally playful demeanour nowhere to be seen. "Do you believe you can?" Mary Sue replied curiously, realising that they weren't going to back down.

Zone, who had slid down Arson's coat a few moments earlier, stepped up besides him, drew his lightsabre, the red glow making him stand out despite his small size, and responded "We can try, _hard_". Mary Sue giggled at this, being threatened by these pathetic creatures, and a rodent no less, and yawned. She gazed up at the sky disinterestedly, and then lowered her head again, looking back at them. "Very well, it's your funeral" she at last said nonchalantly, stretching out her right arm to her side. The three tensed. This was it.

Blood-red energy oozed out of Mary Sue's hand, forming a rough pipe-shaped cloud about a metre and a half in length, and slowly condensing. "Did you know I can taste your weakness? You reek of it" she said, as the energy begin to concentrate into a solid form in her hand. "Uncertainties, contradictions, insecurities, they bleed you dry of what little strength you might have had" the red energy formed into a blade, a long sword, crimson red and imbued with shining rubies in the hilt and handle, which looked like it was made of gold, but was undoubtedly much more solid and deadly than the soft metal. "How can you hope to defeat me, when you're fighting yourselves?" she challenged, turning the blade to point at them as she did.

None of them moved. They knew that behind the innocent, sweet exterior of this creature lurked a deadly parasite, a virus that could leach a character dry and leave them a withered husk. They also knew that her words weren't empty taunts, this journey together had if anything shown they each still possessed flaws.

"Kiss my fuzzy ass lady" Zone suddenly replied with a taunting smirk, throwing in a cocky sabre-twirl for good measure, ending the moment, their last chance to back down. "You talk too much" Arson said in agreement, Reiko giving a small grin and quietly adding "I second that motion". Up until then, any one of them truly could have backed down and left; this didn't have to be their fight, but in the end, each of them chose to stay. Mary Sue glared at them, pausing for only a single moment. Then the fight, the war, began.

Reiko rushed to her left, using his inhuman speed to try and flank her. At the same time Arson ran straight for her, bold and direct. Lastly Zone scooted right as quickly as his little limbs could carry him, despite his headstrongness and smart-ass remarks, sensing he'd need to use his cunning to stand a chance in this fight.

Reiko reached her first with his inhuman speed, lashing out with a lightning fast strike packing enough momentum to buckle a lamppost. Mary Sue didn't even flinch from her relaxed stance, and the weapon was mere inches from her face, when it collided with her sword which was suddenly just, there, the blade not yielding an inch under the force of the intercepted attack. Surprised but undeterred, the vampire dropped and tried a sweep kick, but Mary Sue jumped it as casually as a skipping rope, and he rose up into a series of rapid blows. Reiko's technique was solid and his speed phenomenal, but wherever his staff sought for an opening her sword was there, blocking it effortlessly.

Growling in determination the vampire lunged forwards, putting his weight into a straight thrust, hoping to break through her guard. Mary Sue anticipated it however and evaded to one side, stepping past him and turning, neatly slashing into his exposed back as she did, cutting open a bloody wound diagonally and hurling him skidding across the surface of the tower. She continued to turn and raising her sword higher, parried aside a downward double-strike from Dragon and Phoenix. Arson stumbled slightly, but quickly recovered and pressed forwards with an assault of brutal, hard attacks. Mary Sue either languidly evaded or deflected aside the powerful but slightly clumsy attempts, looking amused as the hybrid started to strain even his limits as he poured more and more effort into the rain of blows.

Finally he managed to knock aside her weapon with Phoenix, and without hesitation brought Dragon round in a savage swing aimed right for her neck. The flaming sword blazed through the air, and came to a jarring halt as Mary Sue caught it with her naked hand. Grinning in amusement at the hybrid's dumfounded expression, she yanked the weapon to the side, hurling it and him clean across the tower. Turning a little with the motion, her sword flashed out towards the airborne Zone, who had found an opening to strike, which had just closed in his face. "Oh shit" he squeaked out, barely managing to move his raised lightsabre between himself and the blade, so that instead of being severed in half he was smacked for a home run.

The rodent went skimming low over the tower, and, about to zip clean off the side, he twisted midair and plunged his lightsabre into the stone surface whizzing beneath him. Clinging on for dear life he managed to drag the momentum out of himself and came to a stop mere feet from the edge. "Damn it she's uber!" he complained as he picked himself up sorely, Arson and Reiko also rising at other points around the edge of the tower. "She certainly plays rough" the hybrid remarked, while Reiko winced, his bloody wounded back stinging, "This doesn't look good" he said simply. It had been at most a minute since they'd attacked, and she'd already swatted them aside with ease, leaving her untouched and unmoved, still holding the centre and tapping her foot impatiently. Steadying themselves resolutely, the three of them charged at her again.

However, while they attacked at the same time, they did not attack _together_, their offensives simultaneous but not combined or coordinated. Reiko stabbed out with multiple rapid thrusts of his staff, which were for all their speed unable to penetrate his opponent's solid guard. Mary Sue was also ducking and dodging as Arson lashed out with savage, heavy strikes, trying to overpower her, but she evaded each attempt easily.

Parrying one of Reiko's strikes as she anticipated him putting more force into it, she ducked a swing from Arson and brought her sword round, upper-cutting Zone and sending him shooting high into the air, the hamster again just managing to block the strike with his lightsabre, saving his fur. Reversing her swing she deflected Arson's next heavy attack and hacking up into his exposed torso, slashed him bloodily away. Not even turning Mary Sue sidestepped Reiko's downwards hammering strike, then facing him she kicked him in the chin, field-goaling him back before he could stand. Lastly she raised her sword once more, blocking Zone's descending stab aimed at her head, and with contemptuous ease flicked him neatly away from her.

Arson, Reiko and Zone did not rise so steadily this time. Things were going badly and they were feeling the effects, the vampire with a severe cut across his back, the hybrid one across his front and the hamster not bleeding, but the concussive impact of being smacked away like being in a car crash for the small rodent.

"You're going to lose, you know?" Mary Sue stated matter-of-factly, leaning on her sword and yawning into one hand, clearly toying with them. As much as they hated to admit it, she was right, they _were_ losing; she was simply besting them in combat. They each stood shakily, weakened by various injuries, but to their credit they gripped their weapons firmly, silently resolving to keep fighting, each having their own reasons.

Seeing all of her opponents intended to continue, Mary Sue shook her head disappointedly. "Poor fools" she lamented, before fixing them each with a merciless, unwavering gaze, "This time, you _stay_ down". None of them replied, too worn and worried for banter, even Zone's cocky demeanour exhausted, each busy trying to summon the means within themselves to defeat their unreasonably super-powered nemesis.

Reiko forced himself to calm, and changing his grip on his staff, he closed his eyes and focused on his objective, blocking out all pain and doubt. Opening his eyes again, he rushed towards Mary Sue. As soon as he was close enough, the vampire brought his staff round in a brutal arc. Mary Sue just rolled her eyes, but was caught out as Reiko shifted one foot forwards, feinting his attack and reversing into a strike from the other side. Mary Sue had to rush to block this, and no sooner had she than Reiko's foot lashed out at her stomach, the uber-fighter barely catching it in her free hand. Not hesitating a moment, the focused vampire adapted and somersaulted, his other foot narrowly missing her head as she leaned far over backwards to avoid it. Turning in midair, Reiko raised his staff and brought it down in meteoric descent, about to smash Mary Sue into the stone floor, even her having no chance of blocking such a blow while so unbalanced.

The metal pole tore down, and was mere inches from her prone form, when suddenly a wave of raw energy rushed up and met it. It repelled both weapon and wielder in a flash of light, as Reiko was hurled back up and blinded. By the time his vision cleared he was falling again, and he regained his senses just in time to see Mary Sue, standing straight again, impale him clean through the torso, his own weight and momentum sinking him to the hilt of the sword. Their faces inches apart, Mary Sue stared at his with raw hatred, infuriated that such a lowly creature had forced her to use even a sliver of her real power. Then, with brutal speed, she swung her sword aside, sending the vampire flying and tearing up his insides even more.

Reiko landed hard, and made no move to rise, or at all. Satisfied, Mary Sue was about to turn when she felt a small weight land on her back. Reaching round she tried to grab the rodent but Zone narrowly evaded her grasp, dodging further up her back, clinging to her dress. She tried again but he continued to elude her, barely keeping ahead of her grasps but not having a split-second to actually attack. Frustrated at being unable to catch the tiny pest, Mary Sue threw herself back against the stone floor, hoping to squash him.

Slamming into the ground, she cracked it slightly, despite the awkward manoeuvre; certain she'd crushed the belligerent furball. She was surprised then to see Zone, lightsabre in paws, rapidly descending towards her forehead, ready to do some amateur brain surgery. When she had thrown herself back, Zone had felt her lurch, and thinking fast had grabbed her hair, which had spread upwards and outwards like a parachute, taking him with it. This is why rather than being flattened into furry paste he had been swung round in a neat arc and was now moments from dealing a deathblow, or at least wounding her he hoped. The little hamster was barely half a foot from her face when her sword flashed up, the flat side smacking into his exposed torso. Mary Sue hadn't used the edge because he was so close to her face and she didn't want to cut herself in her haste, but it still sent him flying, his consciousness knocked clean out of him on impact.

Mary Sue rose to her feat quickly, and ignoring the unconscious furball turned to see Arson, who was floating several metres above the summit and surrounded by a faint cloud of white energy, which was growing more intense by the second. The hybrid made it a rule never to reveal his true power to those who would live to tell about it, there were few exceptions to this and not even Reiko or Zone were among them. But things had become desperate, and in the short time the other two had bought him, he'd been gathering his holy energy. Mary Sue sensed the genuine threat this posed, and Arson smirked, seeing her concern.

However, while Arson was in fact very smart, intelligence and knowledge are not the same thing, and the hybrid was not as aware of her true power as Reiko was. The vampire had attacked her without regard for self-preservation, and had exposed only a hint of the full potential he knew she possessed. With a crackle of crimson lightning, Mary Sue flashed through the distance between her and Arson. She was in front of him before he could blink, interrupting his charging as she wrapped a hand around his neck and squeezed, hard.

Abandoning his holy magic, Arson grabbed her arm with both his own and tried to break her choking grip. He could not budge her however, and with an evil smirk she turned and dove, descending to the stone floor beneath them and slamming Arson face-first into it so hard the whole summit of the tower vibrated. The hybrid was a powerful fighter, but he did not rise from a blow of that magnitude. It was over. They had lost.

Cackling in malicious delight, Mary Sue looked around at her vanquished foes, the vampire run through and bleeding badly, the hamster out cold, possibly with internal bleeding or broken bones, and the hybrid, also knocked out and most likely dangerously concussed. Savouring victory for the briefest moment, she dismissed them from her mind; they had been persistent nuisances, but ultimately nothing more than pests.

"Well, time to call in the professionals" she giggled to herself, and wasting no time, raised her hand to the sky. A massive bolt of ruby lightning arced out of her arm, striking the clouds and splitting them open. In the void beyond lurked hideous darkness, and shadows that moved as though alive. As Mary Sue watched and waited three black shapes broke through the rift before they resealed themselves, descending to the tower's summit. The dark entities took form around her, and Mary Sue smiled, "Long time no see guys".

The three creatures, still mostly shrouded in shadows and unidentifiable, each replied in their own way, standing around Mary Sue in silent obedience. Turning from her new allies, she reached out her hands and dark tendrils extended from them, wrapping around Dante and Vergil's unconscious forms and bringing them to her. As the two half-devils trailed behind her, she turned and walked to the edge of the tower, then off of it, descending on a cloud of shadows to the base of Temen-Ni-Gru, the three nightmarish beings laughing darkly as they followed her.

Back on the summit of the tower lay a vampire, an angel-devil hybrid, and a hamster, friends who had fought valiantly, but now lay defeated, maybe dying, together yet alone, their fates perhaps, already sealed.


	11. Beyond The Last Word

_**Author's Notes:** Alright, just have few things to explain. First of all, as the point has been raised, the last chapter was more serious and less humorous, and this one is going to be too. This is still a humour story and still being written by the same person, and the majority of the chapters and content will be amusing, or at least hopefully they will. I'm just including a light spread of serious parts because although this is a story with strong comedy elements, it is still set to the backdrop of a serious if strange danger and the characters though quirky are still rounded, fleshed out individuals with real drives and qualities and flaws. So basically I'm doing this for a reason and haven't lost sight of my aims with this story, I'm just using the arc of the plot to explore the varying elements it includes. This will almost certainly be the last really serious chapter for a good while, the last one being a major encounter and this dealing with the consequences of it, so expect the funny to return in short order, but in the mean time, I hope you all enjoy seeing the characters in a different light, where I've tried to elaborate on some of the flaws and qualities they possess as individuals :). Comments are much welcome, as I've revised my structure with the feedback I've gotten so far and am experimenting with semi-colons more, and I hope the insight into the characters proves an interesting read, for example I've tried hard to show how Zone, though he tries, isn't as stoic as Reiko, so please, speak your mind so I might learn from your thoughts :D._  
----  
Darkness was everywhere, and everything. Nothing was visible; neither light nor matter penetrated the black void that despite any distinguishable features, seemed to ripple like a liquid. There was _nothing_ here, no time, no space, no feeling and no thought. There were only memories, still and lifeless, like corpses.

The dark continued to ripple, the fluctuations growing steady and more powerful, pulsing motion and sound into the empty world. The pace quickened and became a pattern, the constant rhythm of a heartbeat, pounding at the shadows, trying to break through. Then the blackness ruptured, and bled, a torrent of crimson pouring through into the void. Memory was rejuvenated, and from it sprung thought and emotion, sensations clawing upwards through the earth and dirt, pulling themselves free, rushing for the surface…

With a breathless gasp, Reiko's eyes opened and he fell, light blinding him as his body tumbled briefly, and then landed in a heap on the cold grass. The vampire's senses burned, his body going through rhythmic spasms as it pulsed and quaked with the returning energy of being alive, or at least something like it. Slowly his vision cleared and Reiko's eyes focused, but all they could see was the pale grass his head lay on, the vampire sprawled out on his front. Slowly, wincing at the rawness of his body, he raised his head.

The grass he lay on was a faded green, partially because of the low mist that seemed to cling to it. Hanging motionless, impaled on the limp blades, it resembled a thick, grey carpet. Slowly, Reiko rose onto his knees and turned his head, his eyesight becoming clearer each moment, and he saw a pile of rubble behind him.

Turning his body and creeping towards it, soreness subsiding as he moved, he looked closer. He wasn't sure what he expected to find, but after a moment's inspection he noticed what looked like an engraving on one piece of stone. Leaning closer, the vampire peered, his eyes still adjusting to the mist. "IK" it said, evidently a fragment of a word, although whether the whole would make sense to him he could only guess.

His body now felt more normal and his mind was clearing as well, so, finding no answers here, Reiko stood up, glad that the dizzy, detached sensation movement had brought him before had mostly faded. He glanced at the pile of rubble, which looked smaller seen from head height, and then examined his surroundings.

He appeared to be in some kind of graveyard, a few headstones around him and, his eyes adjusting to the all-pervading fog, more and more appearing as the grey curtain was pushed back by his keen vision. Reiko looked down again, thinking the rubble might have once been a headstone too, but to his mystification it seemed to have vanished. He gave it a puzzled look, but then shrugged, seeing no point in dwelling on it.

Reiko started to walk; the graves were seemingly arranged in a pattern, so he followed the row he was on. As he progressed more and more tombstones slipped out of the foggy distance that was his horizon, and he began to wonder where he was. There were no distinguishing landmarks, just the grass and graves, and the grey fog; he couldn't make out anything else in the distance or see the sky, and it was literally dead silent.

"Where am I?" he questioned out loud, not usually one to speak to himself, but he'd not heard a noise since he awoke and even the silent vampire was slightly disturbed by the absolute lack of sound. It crossed his mind that he could read the headstones, but some primal instinct shied away from that thought, and he decided to listen to it. Unsure of where he was, Reiko tried to figure out how he'd gotten here, and retraced his memories. He recalled the tower, him and Arson and Zone, Mary Sue, their battle, and their… Defeat.

With sudden revelation, Reiko knew where he was. However, before he could process the thought, he heard a tiny noise. It was too faint to tell what it was, but it came from his right, and he followed it. Striding between graves, he began to worry he'd lost whatever had made the sound, when he heard it again, a faint, quick noise, like a sharp breath. Accelerating, he passed some more stones, and then found the source of it.

Lying with his back against one of the headstones, was Zone, the tiny rodent seemingly unmoving, but as Reiko got closer he could see he was breathing and occasionally shaking. Reiko stood besides him, amazed to find the hamster here, and knelt down, quietly asking "Zone?", as if unsure he wasn't just an illusion.

Zone looked up, and sobbed, Reiko realising what the noise he had heard before was. The rodent wore a troubled look, which only lifted slightly as he responded, "Reiko, I'm not alone… Good to see you".

The vampire nodded; smiling slightly, also glad for some company, as well as to see that Zone was alright. The rodent rose onto his hind paws, and Reiko's sharp eyes noticed the fur on his cheeks was damp, a sign he'd been crying. Reiko reconsidered his evaluation of the hamster's condition, "Are you alright, Zone?".

The hamster looked up, and Reiko could actually see him try and put on a brave face, "Oh, yeah, just, enjoying the scenery, hehe" he replied with a forced laugh, shrugging a bit to indicate their surroundings. The vampire looked around again, the fact that Zone was here only confirming what he had realised earlier.

"Have you seen Arson?" Reiko asked, concerned for their other friend who should be here too, somewhere.

Zone shook his head slowly, "No, I haven't seen anyone, or, anything, not until you came along" he replied, looking about, and Reiko noticed he was clenching his paws. The rodent sniffed and shut his eyes tight, seeming to fighting some inner demons, and then in a sudden blur of motion, he drew his lightsabre.

Reiko flinched back as the rodent yelled out in a mix of rage and despair, swinging his weapon around him wildly, hacking at the grass and then at the tombstone behind him. However as the vampire watched him with concern, he saw his actions made no difference. Not a blade of grass was cut and the gravestone was unaffected, and his movements losing their zeal, Zone slowed and finally stopped, slumping hopelessly.

Reiko looked at him with a mix of confusion and worry, having backed away slightly from the outburst. He was about to ask what the rodent was trying to achieve, when Zone dejectedly turned off his lightsabre and, slipping it away to wherever he kept it, turned to face him. "I _hate_ this place…" he whispered, his voice choked with troubled emotions and the effort of not simply breaking down into a fit of hopelessness.

"There's something wrong here, everything's, immutable, I can't change anything, not even a blade of grass. I feel so _powerless_, like I'm dead" he continued, and as Reiko looked at him with increasing worry, he saw something, different. He saw a rodent, six inches from head to tail, naked and, _helpless_. Zone didn't look any different per say; he had always been a hamster, small and wearing just his fur, and somewhat naturally vulnerable. But he also had a drive to him; it was almost tangible, from his cheeky confidence and sharp wit, to the lengths he would go to and efforts he would make in pursuit of his goals. His personality infused him with a sort of lively energy, giving him a greatly enhanced presence for one so small.

But now that energy seemed to have been depleted, the tiny rodent standing before the vampire, clenching his tiny, puny paws and looking utterly helpless. It was a startling sight to Reiko, having known Zone a long while, seeing nakedly just what a little, vulnerable creature he truly was, without any wit or bravado to shield it. He had been about to reprimand him for his emotional outburst that only worsened things, but instead now he felt an inkling of appreciation for what the rodent must pour into being the confident, if sometimes headstrong, individual he knew. "Zone…" he said, not sure quite what to follow it up with.

"Go, look" Zone replied simply, dropping down weakly into a sit and jabbing his paw over his back, pointing past the tombstone he had been lying against. Reiko hesitated, not sure if he should leave the rodent alone in his unsettled condition, but he reasoned he could go and look quickly.

Walking past the stone, he only passed a couple more before he saw it. The ground rolled away down a gentle slope, and before him he saw graves, thousands, millions… Countless graves, the fog thinner away from the ground and the rolling view of the valley presenting a forest of headstones. Of course, by now he knew about this, but for someone not expecting it, to come across this view… He shook his head slightly; it would have been pretty traumatic to say the least. _Poor Zone_, he thought solemnly. Reiko went back to the rodent, who hadn't moved, and the hamster looked up at him, "Did you see it?" he asked semi-rhetorically.

Reiko nodded slowly, "Yes, I had expected it" he replied, and seeing the lost confusion in his friend's eyes, he explained. "There is no one name for this place, but… This is where characters come, when they die. Those who no one reads or writes anymore, the forgotten, the lost, the abandoned… When our time is up and there are no more words, this is the final resting place. Nothing can be changed here, only new graves added" he told the rodent quietly, having some uncommon knowledge about death, being undead himself.

Zone absorbed this as best he could, giving a small nod and hugging himself for some sense of comfort. No wonder he felt so scared, he thought, he couldn't be, _himself_, here, this place was an antithesis to nearly everything he was. The rodent shuddered as he looked around. Power was not everything to him; he wasn't the kind of person who valued it above all else. But still, to do anything you needed some kind of power; if you didn't put _something_ into it nothing would happen, ever. And here he felt completely… _Powerless_.

These kinds of thoughts were key to the beliefs Zone held in his heart. He was ambitious and had great aspirations it was true, but even the smallest causes; just making someone smile or achieving some small personal advancement, needed something to fuel it. Power was not the most important thing; not what truly mattered he knew, but you still needed at least a little of it, good intentions or well wishes alone couldn't help anyone. If you could _do_ nothing he thought, you _were_ nothing. "We're dead?" he asked despondently.

The vampire hesitated, and slowly shook his head, "No, if we were dead, we'd be in graves of our own, but we've come close" he replied sombrely. After a moment's further thought he said decisively "Lets go find Arson"; explanations could come later, but right now time was of the essence. Reiko expected a comment from Zone, who nearly always had something to say. But he just stood and looked around despairingly, and it was clear to the vampire how badly being in this place had shaken him; he was scared and vulnerable.

Pushing aside their trivial minor differences, Reiko made a decision and bent down. Reaching out he gently picked up Zone, who made no move to resist, usually objecting to being picked up at will as if he had no say in the matter. With him in his hand the vampire was reminded again just how small his friend was, and gently holding him to his body with silent sympathy, he began walking. Reiko wouldn't have heard it if the rodent wasn't so close to him, but in a small whisper, with a spark of gratitude and solace struggling through the turmoil of troubling emotions, he heard Zone say "Thank you…", clutching to his coat gently.

The two of them searched the graveyard, Zone climbing onto Reiko's shoulder and keeping an eye out after a bit, the hunt for Arson giving him a little sense of purpose. Reiko meanwhile was stoically focused and calm. It was hard to tell how time passed here, since in a sense it did not, but a short while later they found Arson, the young hybrid sat back against a stone much as Zone had been. He stood up as the other two approached him, a look of relief passing over his face. "Glad you two are OK" he said with a slight grin.

Zone returned the smile with what enthusiasm he had, and Reiko nodded. He was glad to see Arson had coped fairly well with their situation, although he could see the worry in the teenager's eyes, and his normally energetic, excitable attitude was also somewhat subdued. They were all together now, and faced with the dilemma of escaping this place. Reiko breathed out and concentrated; he knew the way out of here, somewhere deep in the soul of his character lurked the knowledge of the path back from death they needed. "Arson, hold my hand" he said after a few moments, offering it to the hybrid, who took it. "It's crucial that neither of you let go of me, I need you to hold on with all you've got, and trust me" he explained to them.

The hybrid swiftly nodded, knowing Reiko well and being able to put his faith in his reliable friend. For Zone it wasn't so easy; although he'd known Reiko a long time, it wasn't nearly as much as Arson had, and the hamster was the most troubled by their circumstances. Even so though, he knew he could sometimes be headstrong and reckless, and so mustering what resolve he had, he recklessly threw his trust into Reiko, helped a little by the fact that he didn't have any other choice. "OK" he said, bracing himself and hoping.

Reiko felt Zone shift a little and cling to his shoulder, and he closed his eyes, dropping down into his own mind. It was here somewhere, a path back to where they had come from; it was like going to sleep, you just had to let go so that you fell the right way. He felt outwards, sensed it, braced himself, and released…

They did not so much leave as their consciousnesses slipped away together, and everything they were went with. A period passed that was immeasurable, again just like when one sleeps. Some time after they left, they arrived, the world coming into being around them with startling sharpness as ground appeared under their feet. "I think we're back" Arson spoke first, and the other two turned to see him pointing to the Temen-Ni-Gru; the three of them standing in a street near the tower, back in the Devil May Cry fandom.


	12. The Writing’s On The Fourth Wall

_**Author's Notes:** This chapter was originally longer, but as I was writing it I was coming up with so much material it was going to be way longer than even chapter 10. So I decided to split it in half and this seemed the best place, and that comes with the good news that I've already written about half of chapter 13 :D. Anyway, it's a little short, but I hope you all enjoy it. There's a lot of Arson in this one XD._  
----  
Dark clouds swirled ominously over the summit of the Temen-Ni-Gru. They did this mostly to spite the weathermen, who had predicted today would be a brilliant sunny affair and just one of those outdoor times. They had of course overlooked the showers of Hell spawn and mild spell of apocalypse threatening the city when compiling this report, but who ever trusted the weatherman anyway?

"So, what now?" Arson asked, half-distracted by imagining the clouds were carrying protest signs, and trying to read what they said. He raised a valid point though; they were back and intact, several city blocks from the tower where presumably, Mary Sue still resided. All they lacked now was a course of action.

"Now, we go and rip her more new ones than she can find use for" Zone replied, glaring at the tower with intent. He had a score to settle, for the rodent could accept defeat, to a degree, but he saw it as no excuse not to try again. After all, where would we be if we all gave up after one failed attempt, he reasoned.

"No, that would be very unwise" Reiko countered, considering that she had mopped the floor with all three of them the first time and they'd not even landed one real blow in return. It would be foolish verging on suicidal to reattempt the confrontation without acquiring some kind of new edge or advantage.

Zone however did not share this point of view, and looked up at Reiko with a challenging expression, "Why not, chicken?" he taunted. He wasn't especially trying to be mean or spiteful, but after his very-near-death experience, he very much wanted to grasp being alive, and able to make a difference, with both paws.

Sensing a potential argument breaking out between the other two, although such bickering was just one of the ways the hamster and vampire communicated, Arson took the initiative and cut in. "Hey, no fighting you guys! Didn't you read the reviews? We have to get back to humorous content now!" he blurted out.

The other two just started at him, Arson blushing and covering his mouth when he realised what he'd said. "Well, there goes the fourth wall" Reiko muttered, shaking his head at the hybrid's reckless impulsiveness.

"May it rest in pieces" Zone concurred, Arson having unwittingly united them in disbelief at his actions.

Suddenly lightning arced across the sky from all around the horizon, striking a central point where the sky seemed to darken. With a deafening clap of thunder, the sky itself split apart, darkening around the wound, the centre of which was glowing an ominous red. The rift widened and the red glow was revealed to be coming from three blood-crimson orbs hanging in the sky in a perfect triangle, lightning crackling between them. The hamster, vampire and hybrid all looked up silently at Mundus, Emperor Of The Underworld.

"I'M MAKING A CANON-DEFYING CAMEO" The ruler of all that was demonic announced, his voice shaking the ground, rattling windows and upsetting small children. Then, with a superfluous crackling of energy and some severe orchestration, the vortex into another dimension imploded spectacularly.

Zone and Reiko stared dumfounded, the sky quickly returning to the almost-normal way it had been before, the pair struck speechless. Arson however growled and cupping his hands around his mouth, he yelled at the top of his voice "You big show-off!", picking up a piece of rubble and hurling it at the sky angrily.

Normally such a gesture would result in the thrown object landing nearby in anticlimactic failure. However due to the hybrid's unordinary strength, it continued to zip upwards and eventually disappeared from view.

"OK… And we're risking our necks for this place?" Zone said eventually, breaking the silence that ensued.

Reiko shook his head, wanting to point out to the hamster that he asked to come along, but he didn't feel up to it after the world's latest attempt to torment him with the frustratingly inexplicable. "Yes" the vampire replied, quickly closing the topic and giving Zone a _look_ as the rodent's mouth opened, silencing even him.

Pondering their circumstances, those being that they were free and alive but currently unable to defeat their opponent, Reiko considered their options. Realising he didn't know how to resolve the problem, he struck on a course of action, "What we need is to seek council, to learn how to overcome Mary Sue's powers".

Zone, his defiant personality overriding the chilling effects of the gaze after a moment (a fair tactic in his view), considered this. He had protested earlier, but realised he'd been hasty, and with a small swallow of pride admitted it. "Yeah, you're right" he said, and then added "But uh, where do we even _start_ looking?".

Reiko didn't have an immediate answer for this, but he was sure he could come up with something and lapsed into an intense brooding focus, staring fiercely into space. That space happened to be on the ground and contained a chunk of rubble, which Arson picked up after a few moments. Feeling sorry for the rock for being basked in Reiko's intense gaze, he coddled it maternally, "There there little guy" he cooed. "You want something to eat, or drink?" he asked the piece of concrete, remarking "I'm kinda thirsty myself".

"Aha!" Reiko suddenly exclaimed, not the kind of person to use a word like eureka. The sudden noise from the vampire made Arson yelp and drop his rock, the hybrid subsequently breaking down into tears, crying that he was a terrible mother. Not to be deterred by this Reiko turned to Zone, and briefly wondered at what point the world went so wrong that he was looking to the hamster as the sane party. "There's a bar around here somewhere, it's one of the few locations outside the tower in the game, so any survivors are probably holding up there. It's a good place to start asking, at least" he explained, further punishing the fourth wall.

Zone tilted his head, scanning his memory for a moment, before recognition hit him. "Oh, the one with the strip club in the back?" he asked with a grin, proud of his successful recollection.

Reiko rolled his eyes but nodded, "Trust you to remember it for _that_ quality" he said with a resigned grin.

Zone shrugged and chuckled in feigned innocence, "What? Alcohol, cheap sex, I didn't decide to put Dante's office just down the street from places offering such things" he replied with coy amusement.

Reiko crossed his arms and didn't reply, the crafty rodent having narrowly evaded having blame for his earlier association placed on him. "Fair enough, anyway, come on, hopefully we can find something useful there" the vampire said, turning to Arson and trying to help him stop lamenting his dropped baby/rock.

Zone turned to watch him and smirked, "Oh I doubt it, they'd probably be closed for business during a crisis like this" he said with an incorrigible grin as Reiko managed to get the weeping hybrid standing. The vampire scowled at the rodent's perpetual cocky innuendo, and gave him a not unkind kick along.

"Get moving you furry pervert" he remarked, again finding himself resisting the urge to grin, as Zone yelped and stumbled forwards, snickering and eventually nodding. He complied, having had his fun, and fell in step besides the others as Reiko consoled the stricken Arson while guiding him along the street.

----

"Ah, this is the place" Reiko announced, standing at the corner of Slum Avenue (that really is its name) and pointing, Arson who was behind him and Zone besides the hybrid, following his finger. It indicated a door on the left just before a heap of wreckage blocking up the street; the entrance to the bar they sought. Smiling in satisfaction at their progress, which had been uninterrupted by attack, Reiko stepped forwards.

The unmistakable crack of a gunshot snapped through the air, and with inhuman reaction speed the vampire dived to the side, the bullet narrowly missing him… And heading straight for Arson.

The hybrid, lacking his friend's exceptional reflexes, didn't even have time to blink as the round smacked with cruel misfortune right into his forehead, kicking him off his feet. The teenager was jerked backwards and fell to the ground on his back, laying motionless for a long moment. Then, he burst into tears, _loudly_.

Reiko, who had just stood up alert and scanning for the source of the attack, was relieved to see the teenager was alive, if not exactly fine. "OOW! Something hit me!" Arson bawled, sitting up and pounding the ground between his splayed legs as he wailed in upset rage, further damaging the cracked street.

As the vampire continued to search for the shooter, they made themselves apparent. Stepping out from concealment behind some debris near the door, the figure was holding a faintly smoking pistol and as it advanced, raised another in its hand and pointed it at Reiko, the first trained on the weeping Arson. We could go into descriptive detail about the individual, finding original ways to describe the white top, the raven hair or the distinctive scar over the nose and so on. But we'll save time and just say it was Lady.

The young demon hunter advanced steadily, keeping a gun on each target; originally she'd considered Reiko the threat, but after seeing the kid survive a gunshot to the head she was wary of him too. "A _vampire_ and a _demon_ huh" she spat the words with vitriolic disgust, "Any reason I shouldn't kill you both now?" she asked, having to raise her voice slightly over Arson's ceaseless crying.

Reiko waved his hands quickly, "We're not evil, we're original characters, _good_ original characters" he explained hastily, finding it hard to sound diplomatic while having to half-shout over Arson's crying.

Lady rolled her eyes slightly at this, not lowering her guns a fraction, "Why should I believe you? And does he _ever_ stop crying!" she had to start yelling to be heard over the incessant bawling.

"It really _really_ hurts!" Arson half-yelled, half-sobbed, tears streaming from his eyes as he rubbed one sleeved-hand against his forehead, glaring at the woman pointing a gun at him with a mix of fear and anger.

"Well, _duh_, you did get shot in the head, you're supposed to _die_" Lady elaborated to the bizarre youth, whose eyes wobbled anew at the suggestion that someone wanted to kill him. Then he burst into a new bout of ear-splitting wailing, Lady wincing and starting to think perhaps the vampire was being honest. After all, surely this kid couldn't be one of the demonic predators she'd been fighting and killing all day. A demon yes, but apparently a benign one, after all, original characters were _strange_, she thought to herself silently.

"Damn it woman, do you _want_ to go deaf!" a voice yelled up at Lady. Looking down, she saw Zone, standing a couple of feet from her and holding his ears down against his head, wearing a very aggravated expression. She hadn't noticed him before, and he'd stayed silent because he had a great view up her skirt.

With an exasperated sigh, Lady lowered her weapons; a talking hamster pretty much proved it, these three _had_ to be original characters. "Fine" she groaned, tucking away her weapons and gesturing to the door, "You can go in, but don't" she emphasised, "cause any trouble, or else" she let the unspoken threat linger.

Getting a cooperative nod from Reiko, a surprisingly enthusiastic "OK!" from Zone, who almost didn't stop staring between her legs in time, and a sob from Arson, she turned and went back to take up her post. Reiko let out a relieved phew and helped Arson up, the hybrid only sobbing quietly now, much to Zone's delight. "Well, now I know what an air raid warning sounds like" he muttered as they headed to the door.


	13. Handle With Care

_**Author's Notes:** A pretty long chapter here, the longest so far I think, but like I said in the previous notes, I've just been overloaded with ideas for this part, hehe. Anyway, hope it doesn't drag on too much, tried to keep the funny flowing, and I realise that parts of this chapter, mainly the parts with Zone in, haha, push the rating of this story, but I figure if you understand what the rodent is talking about, then you already know about that kind of stuff and I can hardly be blamed for that, can I XD? A few friendly cameos in this one, Zoom knows who she is, and I hope she likes her appearance in this, Keahi is property of my good friend Lori, and while not exactly a cameo, Lady's badass attitude in this and I guess, the previous chapter, are dedicated to my great friend V. A bonus point to anyone who figures out where the stone that hits Beowolf came from, and lastly to Agent47Rulz, I'm not a professional writer, but I aspire to become one and this story is a significant step towards that, I'm trying to see how my work appeals to a larger audience and collect feedback. So I really mean it when I say I appreciate every review, they're helping me live my dreams :), and the least I can do is continue to entertain you all, which I hope this chapter does, I certainly enjoyed writing it :D. No offence is intended towards any fanboys, fangirls or anyone by their portrayal in this chapter, I merely poke fun just like I do at everyone else in this story. With all that said, I give you the latest, and naughiest, chapter :3.  
_----  
Once the three were inside the Bullseye bar, the door closed behind them, Arson calmed down and Reiko let him go, the hybrid standing on his own two feet and seeming to cheer up at the warmer atmosphere. The vampire looked round the bar, which was a carbon-canon-copy, except it seemed someone had removed the switch-like device in the far corner and added several more rooms branching off a hall. To the right of that, was the entrance to the Love Planet; someone had evidently been a very slick business thinker, putting a bar and a strip joint in the same building.

The front was deserted save for a young blonde female behind the bar who glanced up at them, a curious expression crossing her face, but said nothing. A meaty-looking sub machinegun lay on the bar besides her.

Giving a courteous nod of good intentions towards her to show they meant no trouble, figuring she must be guarding the place like Lady was, Reiko turned to the other two. "Alright" he explained, "There's at least two people on watch for any attacks, so it should be safe to split up and start asking round for information".

Getting a nod of confirmation from both Arson and Zone, the vampire turned and headed to the back area.

Arson looked around curiously, gazing in fascination momentarily at the multicoloured bottles at the bar, then followed. Reiko went into a room on the right of the hall, so the hybrid entered the one on the left.

Poking his head around the doorframe, he scanned curiously before entering. The room was like a big extension of the front, a large space with maybe a dozen decent-sized tables for customers to sit down and drink up. Several of the tables had groups of people sitting at them, with a few loners spread in-between.

Wandering up to a table at random, Arson said "Hello", his voice cheery and friendly, and the occupants of it, who had been chatting animatedly, turned to look at him. The hybrid's sharp mind quickly detected a certain trend, noticeably the pages of paper sprawled all over the table, the shirts with "Dante" or "Vergil" in a heart, or sometimes both in one heart, and most obviously that everyone at the table was female.

There was a brief uncertain silence. Then it was broken as the girl on Arson's left yelled "Aww, he's so _kawaii_", and glomped the hybrid sideways. Luckily for Arson another girl tackled him from the other side and he was rebalanced, squashed between the two females who quickly began to coo over him, along with the rest of the table. About half a dozen DMC fic-writing fangirls started to aww and tell each other they couldn't believe how cute he was. One was playing with his hair, and another climbed over the table to cuddle him tightly, giving him a face-full of 32C chest, his nose stuffed right into the ample cleavage.

With a delicate and complex manoeuvre and a little superhuman strength, Arson managed to extract himself from the group-cuddle enough to speak. "Um, thanks" he said with childlike grateful innocence, the cute teenager earning a synchronised _awww_. Flushing slightly he continued "Uh, who are you girls?".

"Oh, we're a fangirl tour" explained the one who had given Arson an encounter of the curved kind.

"Yeah, we were going on a day out round the fandom, which was totally awesome! But then all this happened and we got stuck here, which totally sucks" added the one who had originally glomped him.

"Yep, all cus of Mary Sue, she's so _selfish_" said one of the others resentfully, getting sounds of agreement.

Arson gave an understanding nod and supportive smile, "Sorry to hear that" it was a fairly basic response, but coming from such an adorable speaker they ate it up. "Actually, me and my friends are trying to stop Mary Sue" he continued with an enthusiastic grin and nod, hoping they might know something of use.

"Aww, how brave! That is so _sweet_!" declared the generously-chested one, who seemed to be the leader of the group. She was met with enthusiastic agreement as they all cooed over the cute, bold kid some more.

"Hehehe, thanks" Arson said earnestly as two of them played with his hair and said how strong and rich it was, "You wouldn't happen to know a good way to beat her, would you?" he asked hopefully.

The fangirl group paused and huddled whispers flew around the table, even though they didn't move any closer. After a moment the leader replied a bit sheepishly "Uh no, sorry, we don't know anything like that".

"Yeah, we're great at complaining" another said brightly, getting several enthusiastic nods of agreement from her friends, "But… We haven't quite worked out how to solve it yet" she added a little sheepishly.

"Oh, OK, thanks anyway" Arson said politely. Then out of curiosity he asked "Is there a fan_boy_ tour, too?".

The leader snickered a little, "No, most fanboys aren't intelligent enough to group together like that. They lurk around in ones and twos. There's a few here, oh, there's one now" she pointed to the room's entrance.

Arson turned and saw a male no older than himself standing near the entrance. Just then Lady walked by, pausing to check everything was alright in the back, before heading to the front to change shifts with the other armed woman. As Arson watched it was very obvious the fanboy's attention was fixated on her chest.

Lady turned and left, and the fanboy followed. The fangirls around Arson snickered conspiratorially, and one of them muttered "They never learn, just listen". Arson nodded and strained to listen as best he could.

The hybrid heard a brief exchange, followed by an angered yelp, and then a gunshot. A few moments later, and the fanboy hobbled back in and collapsed moaning in a corner, holding his leg, which was bleeding.

The fangirls burst into giggles, and the same one who spoke before said "Told you, they _never_ learn".

Arson looked at the wounded fanboy, and felt a pang of empathy, even though he could guess what had caused the angered yelp. "That's a bit, harsh, isn't it?" he asked the group around him uncertainly.

As he did, Lady strolled back past the room, sneering at the wounded fanboy, and was joined by the other female from the bar. "Not really, he walked away. Well, _limped_ away" one of the fangirls remarked as the two heavily armed women conversed for a moment.

"That's Zoom" the same one explained to Arson, "She's called that because she's got an aim like a sniper. _She's_ harsh" Zoom went back to the front as this was said, replacing Lady on watch. Arson nodded and shrugged slightly; it seemed a strange alias, but he could hardly talk. Besides, if Lady, why not Zoom, he thought. Then he noticed someone rise from a table and follow Zoom after Lady went into the other room.

"Oh boy, another one" the fangirl leader said, as the better-disguised fanboy went out to the front. Arson could tell from the angle and expression of the male's stare he was following the other woman's decent chest. His gaze was so manic it looked capable of seeing breasts through walls, a kind of seX-ray vision.

There was, again, a brief exchange, then, a growl, a gunshot, a whimper, and finally the thump of a body hitting the floor. "They _don't_ walk away from her" the fangirl leader elaborated, to unanimous agreement.

Arson just blinked in bemused intrigue as, in the distance he heard the front door open, then close as Zoom went out to take up watch for her shift. No other sounds emanated from the front of the bar. A little caught out, he remembered his purpose and briefly wondered if either Zone or Reiko had had better luck than him.

----

Having made sure everyone under her guard was coping fine, Lady went back out to the bar at the front; she'd rather be near the entrance in case Zoom needed help. Normally the daughter of Arkham was fiercely independent, but when the unscripted current crisis had struck, she'd ended up finding herself trying to save and protect what survivors she could find. Hence by some compassion in her soul not yet extinguished, she'd ended up forming a sort of safe camp here, where there was cover, shelter and plenty of supplies.

Entering the front, Lady's eyes fell onto a form lying in the middle of it, and she rolled her eyes. She liked Zoom, the only other person she'd met who could defend herself since this all began. They shared a passion and expertise for firearms, and Zoom's precision was remarkable. But _still_, Lady thought as she fetched a broom and used it to roll the corpse of the fanboy into the corner, she was prone to leaving a mess behind.

Having made the place mildly tidier, Lady having some standards, she went behind the bar to get a drink to rehydrate herself. As she did so, she noticed a movement on the bar surface, and realised she wasn't alone.

Sitting on the wooden surface by an empty bottle was Zone, who was briefly seeing how he looked in his reflection. After all, unlike his companions he didn't wear any clothes, so he was more prone to get dirty if he didn't stop to check his fur now and then. Cleaning a couple of faint smudges off of himself, he looked up, saw Lady had seen him, and smiled. "Afternoon Lady" he said with intended politeness, bowing a little.

Lady recalled him from before, and being a little unsure how to respond to a hamster sitting by an empty beer bottle greeting her politely, she replied "Uh, hey". In truth Zone had only had, literally, a couple of drops of alcohol, out of curiosity, and wasn't the least bit intoxicated. But seeing him sitting by the drained bottle, combined with something about his smile, was just suggestive of otherwise.

"Hi, my name's Zone" he said by means of introducing himself, then striking a pose with the aid of his reflection, added, "Zone The Tyrant Hamster".

Lady gave him a look of bemused disbelief, arching one eyebrow, and the rodent sagged a little. "Alright, well, aspiring Tyrant Hamster" he admitted a little sheepishly, quickly relaxing into a more casual stance.

"Um, that's great" Lady replied after a moment, wondering what she had done to have so many freaks inflicted on her. "Did you want something?" she asked, as she would rather satisfy whatever he wanted and be done with it than go through any more bizarreness today.

Recovering a bit from his failed, and in hindsight he noted, foolish attempt to impress her, he nodded. "Uhuh, actually" he said, pausing for the slightest fraction of a second, before grinning and adding "I was hoping I could _pump_ you for information", the rodent radiating artificial innocence.

Lady gave him a wary look at the inflection with which he said "pump" with, but replied anyway. "Information about what, rodent?" she asked, using the term to try and put him in his place a little, as some ancient instinct made her feel the furball was up to something.

"Oh, about Mary Sue, me and my friends are trying to defeat her, so, if you know anything useful, maybe you and I could _skirt_ the issue" Zone glanced at Lady's skirt meaningfully as he said this, smirking widely.

Lady did get the implication that time, and glared at the rodent with a mix of rising fury and sheer disbelief.

Zone winced slightly under the glowering, Lady mustering a significant amount of enraged indignity into it over the idea of being hit on by a rodent. But, standing firm he continued, "Of course if you're, impatient… We could just go right to the _nub_ of the problem" he almost snickered, winking as only a furred being can.

Lady was actually shaking now, and placing her hands on the bar either side of the hamster, giving him nowhere to run, she leaned down and starred daggers at him from mere inches away. "How can you even _pretend_ I would consider anything like… _That_, with a ball of fuzz like you" she growled murderously.

Zone gulped. He couldn't help it, he was a cocky creature, but so too was Lady an intimidating one, especially given their size difference, which her proximity only emphasised. However, while he did flinch he did not flee, and staring back into her face with a confident, cheeky smirk, he replied, "Don't deny you find me cute, you're already dying to be close to me" his furry grin he said this was incandescently smug.

Lady just glared at him furiously, thinking to herself that he was even worse than Dante. The hamster _was_ really quite cute she admitted, although not out loud. But his cockiness was enough to make her want to strangle him. Of course, while she'd actually shot Dante in the head before, the diminutive rodent couldn't take anything like that much punishment, and while Lady was temperamental, she was trying to eschew killing purely out of anger. So, settling on a satisfying middle ground, she grabbed a full pint glass of bear with one hand, and threw the contents in Zone's face, drenching the half-foot tall rodent.

Gasping and spluttering, the hamster was knocked onto his back by the tidal wave of alcohol, half-drowning in it. After a couple of moments he half-sat up, leaning on his hand-paws and panting, his fur completely soaked through with cheap beer and matted to him; his whiskers sagging heavily with the stuff.

He carefully opened his eyes, having closed them reflexively; glad his fur was keeping the alcohol out of his vision. The rodent looked up, and saw the triumphant face of Lady looming over him, the young woman most satisfied at having doused the frisky rodent's innuendos. However, she did not count on the resilience of Zone's determined cheekiness, and coughing up a little of the drink, he replied with a wet, wide grin "Alright, fair play, now we're _both_ soaking wet".

Lady's expression transformed from pleased victory to mute rage as the words registered in her mind. Her glare would have sent frenzied dogs scampering in terror, but Zone merely hiccupped and gazed into it with an unfaltering grin that somehow combined cute, furry little innocence, with shameless cheekiness…

----

Having had no luck digging up anything useful in the first room he'd gone into, Reiko walked back out into the hall. Seeing Arson was in the room opposite, he figured he'd best leave it to the hybrid, and looked around for somewhere else to inquire.

As he stood there, a distinctive smack snapped his attention down the hall to the front room of the bar, and a split-second later he saw Zone zoom horizontally about a metre above the ground, straight into the wall.

Sliding to the ground, the hamster sat up dizzily, on the fourth attempt, and looking around his spinning surroundings, spotted two Reikos. "Hey, guys, I think Lady really likes me" he yelled as he managed to get onto all fours, finding balancing difficult, since he was still disorientated from the slap Lady had given him.

"You're soaked in _alcohol_, rodent! Want me to go find a _lighter_?!" the vampire heard Lady roar. Zone let out a fearful squeak and half-staggering, half-scurrying, ran into the hall Reiko was in, bumping into the walls a couple of times on his haphazard course, and darted into the room the vampire had just left.

Reiko watched him go in bewilderment, then was forced to back up the corridor or be stampeded as Lady followed the hamster, furiously trying to spark a lighter in one hand, a loaded, cocked shotgun in the other.

Shaking his head, the vampire muttered to himself, "You really have a way with women, Zone" he said with a faint grin. Hearing faint conversation coming from behind him, he decided to let the rodent exercise the independence he so fiercely demanded and handle Lady on his own, and went to investigate the talking.

Coming to the end of the corridor, the vampire was presented with a door on the right, and he opened it.

Hearing the discussion on the other side cease as he entered, he made sure to come in nice and slowly, so as not to alarm anyone. When he was fully inside, he closed the door, and turned to face the room's occupants.

He was surprised by both what, and who he saw. "Nevan?" he asked curiously, the vampiric succubus sitting at the only table in the small room and… Playing cards, with another woman he didn't recognise.

Nevan's face lit up in delight as she recognised the intruder disturbing her game, "Reiko honey! Mm you're looking especially tasty" she said by way of greeting.

Reiko sighed internally, seeing that Nevan was wearing what she always did even in public, a dress made of living bats that served her, with nothing covering her blue-skinned torso except her long, richly red hair.

"Nevan, you sound exactly like you always do, frisky, what are you doing here?" Reiko replied, pausing and looking at the other woman at the table, who was returning a look of curiosity towards the vampire.

Nevan laughed lazily and replied "With Dante out of commission, I've got nothing to do, you didn't expect me to sit up in that tower all alone with nothing to do, did you?".

Reiko wanted to point out that she'd been stuck there for two millennium already, but decided against it, and instead asked "So where's Beowolf?". He knew Dante would have defeated Cerberus, and Agni and Rudra before Mary Sue struck, but if the undefeated bosses were going out wandering he wondered where the giant wolf of light had gone.

"Oh he's outside sugar" Nevan replied, gesturing to a window, which Reiko glanced out of curiously.

----

Beowolf stood in an ally behind the bar, heaving and striding about as if enraged at something. "That odour, I know it" the humanoid demonic wolf growled, and suddenly he spun round and punched a bin just sitting there by the wall, annihilating it. "It's the stench of betrayal, the odour of that accursed Sparda! I will annihilate every last filthy creation of Sparda!" he roared as he laid into the garbage containers, which had the extreme misfortune to be manufactured by a company called Sparda Bins ltd.

A moment later, a tiny object fell from the sky and struck the rampaging demon square on the forehead. The piece of rubble shattered on impact, and the giant wolf froze, his eyes slowly glazed over, and he finally toppled backwards, hitting the ground with a loud crash.

----

Reiko watched all this with an expression of hopeless confusion, the vampire just giving up after a while and ignoring the whole thing. Turning back to Nevan, he saw she was taking his distraction as a chance to shamelessly stare at his well-muscled body. "You're always like this" he asked with rhetorical weariness.

"Always honey" the words oozed out of Nevan's mouth, then she turned back to her acquaintance. "Keahi love, this handsome morsel is Reiko, Reiko, Keahi" she said, introducing the two to one another amusedly.

Reiko nodded and, not holding her association with the succubus, who he had a mixed opinion of, he bowed politely to the other female. "A pleasure to meet you" he said, rising and looked her over properly.

The young woman had slightly tanned skin with an even tone, and long, chestnut coloured hair that went down to her rear. Her eyes were a nice shade of amber, and she was, even Reiko had to admit, very, curvy.

She was wearing a clean white blouse, fully buttoned up but not tucked in, and with the sleeves rolled back past her elbows, which were leaning on the table as she held her cards. A pair of black leather pants and matching stiletto boots going up to her knees completed an appearance that was sexy but not outright slutty.

"Thanks, same to you" she replied with a blush as Reiko stood straight again, flattered by the courteous greeting. Turning back to the game briefly, she laid down her hand victoriously, "I win" she said to Nevan.

The succubus chuckled, laying down her own cards, which were almost but not quite a match for Keahi's, "So you do sugar, well played. I guess I'll have to find something else to entertain me" Nevan said meaningfully, easily rising to her feet and looking at Reiko pointedly. "Did you want something honey, or did you just get lost?" she asked him as she advanced towards him at an easy, seductive sway.

Reiko's first instinct was to back away, but thinking again he reconsidered that perhaps the succubus _did_ have something he wanted. After all, she was thousands of years old; she was bound to know some things besides… The tricks of her trade.

"Yes, I do want something" Reiko said, and almost grinned when he saw Nevan's eyes light up slightly in pleased surprise. "I'm trying to find out how Mary Sue might be defeated, would you know how Nevan?" he continued, silently satisfied as Nevan paused her teasing advance and frowned briefly in disappointment.

"Mmm, is that all?" she asked after a moment, getting a silent nod in return. The succubus looked like her fun had been spoiled for a bit, but then a grin crossed her face and she walked up to Reiko, "Actually, I think I know something you might find useful" she confessed.

It was Reiko's turn to look surprised, and he tried to keep his voice steady as she slowly leaned closer to him. "Oh, well, what is it" he asked her as her advances caused him to back up against the wall by the door.

"Well…" she said teasingly, leaning in closer now he had nowhere to run. "I could tell you, but if I'm giving you something you want, it's only fair you give me something I want in return" as Nevan said this, her large chest pressed to his and he could feel her rubbing faintly up against him lewdly, one of her hands tracing a dangerous path up his inner thigh. Reiko swallowed; he was tempted, she had a _lot_ of experience.

Feeling her tongue start to trace over his neck, the vampire closed his eyes, fighting down a shudder, and reached down between them. Clamping his hand firmly around her wrist, he gently but steadily moved her hand away from him, looking away from her to the side as he did. "No, not that" he told her simply, making no move to push her away any further, but stopping her advances unmistakably. Looking past her to Keahi, he asked "Do you know anything, please?", but the other female shook her head apologetically.

Nevan sighed, and slowly leaned off of Reiko, giving him a look mixed with disappointment and amusement at the vampire's stoic refusal. "Reiko, Reiko, Reiko…" she muttered in coy lament, and as he let go of her hand she added with a chuckle "You're a _stiff_ in all the wrong ways".

A couple of moments after Nevan had separated from Reiko to a distance of some decency, Zone stumbled into the room through the still open door. The hamster was panting, looking pretty worn, and his fur was singed in several places. He opened his mouth to say something, but coughed out a puff of smoke instead.

"Aww!" Keahi cried out at that, almost heartbroken at seeing the furry little creature in physical distress. Standing up she hurried over and scooped Zone up, cuddling him tightly and rubbing his in places singed back soothingly. "Are you OK little guy?" she cooed as she took him back to the table and sat down again.

Reiko watched this in sheer amazement. He didn't know how he did it, but somehow being half-knackered and half-cooked, the shrewd rodent managed to be even more adorable than usual. The vampire hadn't missed the delighted glint in Zone's eyes either when Keahi cuddled him up, and Reiko suspected he was staying silent and just soaked up the attention on purpose.

He was in fact completely right, and even though Zone's first attempt at speech had gone up in smoke, he wasn't even thinking of making a second. The hamster was enjoying being spoiled by Keahi far too much, not to mention the fact he was being cuddled tightly to an extremely charitable amount of chest. Also, while he didn't know about Arson's similar experience earlier, he would have grinned even wider knowing that Keahi was much more generously endowed than the fangirl who had smothered the hybrid.

Nevan watched all this while chuckling into her hand, and turned to Reiko as Keahi set Zone down on the table to his disappointment, that was until she started scratching under his chin. "Well, if we can't negotiate then I'm afraid I have to go" the succubus said. Reiko clenching his fists in frustration, she knew something that they could really do with finding out, but while he'd do almost anything to find out, he wouldn't stoop _that_ low. Not knowing what to say, the vampire remained silent as Nevan left through the door besides him.

Arson walked in a moment later, Keahi looking up at the cute new arrival and waving, the hybrid returning the gesture friendlily. "You have any luck?" he asked, turning to Reiko, who shook his head despondently.

"No, you neither I guess, what about…" he paused, looking around the room, then said "Where did Zone go?". Keahi glanced down at the table and realised the rodent she'd been stroking wasn't there anymore.


	14. Taking Charge

_**Author's Notes:** OK, here's the final version, proofread and organised without being in a rush :D. Zone is still prominent, but not outright dominant like he was before, so, hope you all enjoy it. Oh and also, since I forgot to answer this before, to Saddened Soul, Arson is half devil and half angel, but Dante was the son of Sparda, and while I don't fully know Arson's history, a secret held by bustahead, at least for purposes of this story I'm playing all three as less powerful than either of the sons of Sparda, although Arson is probably the strongest out of him, Reiko and Zone. To make a single character more powerful than the main hero would sort of smack of the uberness I myself made fun of, I reckon XD._  
----  
Walking with a suggestive sway even when, to the best of her knowledge, no one was around to watch, Nevan glided down the hall to the front of the Bullseye bar. Pausing she turned her head and smiled overly-sweetly to Lady, who sat on the bar cleaning her guns. The human grunted disdainfully and focused more intently on her work. She was not on the best terms with Nevan, what with her being a demon. After all last time Lady had seen Dante she'd shot him in the face, twice. But considering the current crisis she had grudgingly decided against tangling with the powerful succubus, especially with so many innocents around.

The vampiric creature chuckled to herself amusedly at Lady's reaction, and giving a teasing wink, turned and went through the doors into the Love Planet. Lady pointedly ignored her departure and remained focused on empting the barrel of her shotgun of clogging dirt. As a result she did not notice the figure that slipped through the door after Nevan just before it closed, moving silently and darting through just in time.

With a lackadaisical stretch, Nevan stepped down the short stairs and walked into the middle of the deserted strip joint. She inspected the pole with coy interest for a moment, just letting her mind wander. Of course, being millenniums old, there was no trick to her trade a gritty place like this could teach her. But it at least had vaguely the same atmosphere as her lair, stage and all, so she found it easier to relax back here.

Still unbeknownst to the succubus, a sly figure watched her from behind one of the half-ruined table and sofa arrangements strewn around the room. Zone absent-mindedly licked his lips; half because the same recent incident that had mildly signed his fur had somewhat dehydrated him, and half from excitement.

Dragging his mind away from naughty thoughts regarding Nevan and the pole, though it came reluctantly, Zone took a moment to focus. He would not deny that he was having fun. Oh no, he was enjoying himself, especially with the twin highlights of hitting on Lady and his close encounter with Keahi's D-cup breasts.

All the same though, while good times along the way were great, they were here with a purpose, and one he was fully behind. They had to find out how to defeat Mary Sue, and judging by end of the conversation between Nevan and Reiko he'd caught, he figured she knew something. Evidently whatever Nevan wanted in exchange for the information, Reiko had failed to provide. Zone knew he'd struggle to offer anything the vampire couldn't, besides cuteness and furriness, but that was not going to deter him from at least trying.

Glancing round again to double-check Nevan was still there, which she was, he placed his front paws on the back of the wrecked seating. The hamster was easily able to gain a purchase on the torn up material and rapidly climbed the furniture. _This should be interesting_, he thought to himself with an anticipating smirk.

----

"Excuse me, you haven't seen a hamster around have you, about six inches head to tail, tan and white fur?" Reiko asked. His face fell slightly as the random background character gave a shake of the head. Knowing that they'd be utterly useless, since they didn't even have a brief description, let alone a name, he turned around to find someone more significant to ask. Doing so brought him nose to nose with Keahi, or at least as close as noses can get while standing straight in front of someone with so much bust, "Uh, hey Keahi".

Keahi smiled briefly at the greeting, but then her expression saddened, "You don't remember me, do you?".

Reiko stared at her in perplexity, and then suddenly a light bulb of familiarity went off in his head. "Oh, Keahi…" he said awkwardly, amazed he hadn't recognised her, "Sorry, I've just been, caught up lately".

Seemingly satisfied with this, Keahi cheered and cuddled the vampire tightly. "Yay! You remember me!".

It was at this point that Arson returned from asking people in the other room if they'd seen Zone. He arrived just in time to catch Keahi's last words. "Oh, you two know each other, how?" He asked curiously.

Reiko coughed and tried to find the words to explain it to Arson, "Um, we're, old friends" he tried lamely.

Keahi giggled, "Nevan's right, you _are_ a stiff in all the wrong ways. You were another kind of _stiff_ for me".

Reiko's cheeks flushed as Arson pondered this. "You mean, he would play dead?" the naïve hybrid asked.

Keahi giggled at his innocence, and nodded, grinning. "Oh yeah, Reiko would lie down for me whenever I asked" she laughed, hugging Reiko tighter as he clawed at his face, though the innuendo was lost on Arson.

----

Nevan was still staring at the stage, letting her mind drift through memories it conjured, of which she had an unbelievable quantity. With a gentle sigh etched with longing, for she hadn't had any "fun" for quite a while, she drew out of her reminiscing, and turned around. As she did she saw a hamster, grinning at her.

Zone had climbed up the back of the seating and with a nimble jump, made it onto the table, which was still upright. Looking over himself he'd had a moment to or two to clean his fur up before Nevan had seen him. Then she'd turned, and he'd smiled, mind working quickly behind the open expression. He really had no idea how this was going to play out, but the rodent figured if he was going to have any chance of success, he'd need all his wits and cunning about him. After all, she _definitely_ held the advantage in life experience.

The succubus slightly raised her eyebrows in curiosity, but she was thousands of years old and had seen things most people wouldn't believe and in most cases, done things even less people would believe with them. So while a hamster suddenly being there on the table and smiling at her was slightly surprisingly, she was easily a match for it. "I didn't know I had an audience" Nevan said with amusement, posing slightly.

"I must confess, I snuck in without paying for a ticket" Zone replied, also sounding enthused. After all, he was about to negotiate with a two thousand year plus old vampiric succubus demon… How _cool_ was _that_?

Again Nevan's eyebrows raised, finding a talking hamster even more curious than a conventional one, and she slowly walked from the stage to the table where the intriguing rodent sat. "Well, aren't you a cute little thing" she said half-rhetorically once she stood before him, leaning down slightly to be closer to his level.

Zone smirked right back as he replied. " I wouldn't _dare_ disagree with an opinion as professional as yours, so, guilty as charged" he said with a little shrug of a motion that slyly exhibited his furry, cuddly cuteness.

Nevan let out an easy laugh that seemed to saturate the room, just rolling out of her throat and pervading the air with her amusement. "Mm you've got spark" she said, quite entertained by the rodent's playful, cheeky wit. She leaned down a little more to give him a little pet between the ears, as well as improving his view of her cleavage, both tantalising rewards for amusing her.

It took a small effort of will for Zone not to just slip into a sit right there. Being rubbed between the ears was always nice, but Nevan knew exactly what she was doing, and it felt so much better than usual. "Hehe, like what you see?" he asked coyly as she ran a finger down his back, making him want to shiver happily.

"And feel" she replied as her finger reached the base of his spine, grazing over his stubby tail cheekily. The succubus didn't usually getting to enjoy touching soft things, and Zone's fur was silky to the touch. "I could ask the same" Nevan said with a laugh as she caught the rodent's eyes lingering on her ample chest.

Zone looked back up at her, and it was instinct to blush, but he fought it down. He wouldn't fair well in any kind of bargaining as a flushed little furball. He might have a _really_ good time, he thought as she rubbed one of his little ears between two fingers in a way that he couldn't help but sigh from, but he wouldn't get what he came for. Nevan chuckled at his reaction, enjoying inflicting teasing little pleasures on the rodent.

"Hehe, definitely Nevan" he said boldly, relieved yet disappointed as she let up on his ear. He was sorely tempted to dawdle and fish for more attention, but resisted the urge "But, that's not actually why I'm here".

Nevan tilted her head slightly, further interested to find the hamster knew her name. The motion caused her hair, which barely covered her chest, to shift with lewd promise. "Oh, what did you come for then? And it seems you have the advantage of me" she said, referring to his knowing her name but her not knowing his.

"Now there's an enticing thought" Zone replied with a smirk, earning another amused laugh and a ruffle on his head. By now his little body was humming with all sorts of warm, nice feelings that had been rubbed into it. "Name's Zone" he said, managing to keep on track, but unable to resist a playful courteous bow.

Nevan chuckled again at his quirky display of manners, slipping a nimble finger under his chin and rubbing his fuzzy throat as he straightened up again. "Nice name, it suits you, cute yet interesting" she said as the rodent's eyes rolled back slightly, a tiny moan slipping out of his throat from the rubbing on under his chin. The succubus laughed, quite fond of the mischievous, witty rodent she had almost literally wrapped around her finger, finding him refreshingly amusing. "So what can I do for you, Zone?" she asked coyly, grinning wider as she watched the hamster struggle to reply between the pleased noises she was drawing out of him.

"Uh, well I'm with Reiko, we need to find out h-how to defeat Mary Sue" he said, closing his eyes and taking a couple of breaths before continuing, mentally steadying himself. "I know Reiko let you down, but I'm way more resourceful than him, I bet I could give you something you want, to make a fair exchange like" he said, managing a confident grin despite the urge to just lie down and let her pet him senseless.

Nevan's grin lit up at that, and her eyes practically shone with wicked intent. "Well, I would have doubted you could give me what I wanted from Reiko, but if you really want to try…" she let the words hang as her finger began to rub a dangerous path down the rodent's furry underside, slowly running over his little chest.

Zone's heart quickened, his little eyes widening as he quickly conned onto what she was talking about. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised, he thought to himself in hindsight. After all, she was a succubus, and a demonic one at that. Most of the time when Zone hit on females, it was a mix of playful banter and a kind of way of, not being thought of too differently, just because of what he was. He knew he had little chance of a woman doing anything with him, and in truth he didn't exactly want them to, though it was tempting. But by flirting he kind of proved he didn't somehow not count, and it was fun if the other person got into it.

However, as the invasive finger brushed through the fur on his stomach, Zone knew he was playing a very different game now. Nevan had probably been intimate with things he didn't know existed; pleasuring a hamster would seem refreshingly tame to the ancient succubus. She was really close now to his _personal_ space, and the rodent shivered and gulped. He was tempted, God he was _so tempted_. She was doing it willingly, and there wasn't anything wrong with pleasure was there? And surely he deserved it and she'd be so good at it and… It was just so _easy_ to think of reasons to say yes and so _hard_ to think of ones to say no.

Zone moved his paws shakily down and grabbed her finger, the succubus pausing it where it lay pressed against his lower stomach, even though he hadn't a fraction of the strength to physically stop her. "Not, that" he managed to say, mustering all the will he could to deny the lure in his excitement-clouded mind.

Nevan hesitated, and then with a sigh and a disappointed pout, pulled her finger away from the hamster, leaving him panting and blinking. "Fine, but I still want something" she said, folding her arms expectantly.

Zone gave a distracted nod, still gathering his shaken up thoughts, since although he'd resisted her, she'd still really wound him up pretty high. In fact if someone had asked him why he had denied her, he wouldn't have been able to fully articulate it himself, to be truthful. Having already fought one mental battle just to not give into her, he was at a disadvantage with the sly woman, but he reminded himself he never expected this to be easy. "Well, there must be something else I can do for you" Zone said, stalling for time to think.

Nevan pondered this for a moment, but her reply wasn't encouraging. "I'm a simple girl with simple needs" she said with a smirk. She was still fond of the rodent, but all the same, he wasn't getting anything for free.

This was expected yet still disappointing to Zone, who imagined what little else she might want she could easily acquire herself. Clutching his paws together, not wanting to let this opportunity slip through them, he focused furiously, thoughts flashing through his mind like lightning bolts, hoping to illuminate some idea that might work. He tried to imagine he was her, to picture what she'd want… And a thought came to him.

"Alright" he said, his furry face suddenly set in a confident grin, which perked Nevan's interest. He wasn't sure if she'd buy this, but it would certainly help if he sold it with style, "I know something I can give you".

"Oh?" Nevan asked simply, successfully intrigued to see what the little furball thought he could do for her.

"Uhuh" Zone said, crossing the digits on one paw hopefully. "If I can't please you in this form, how about I do so in your other one?" he pitched the all-or-nothing question, watching her with keenly hopeful eyes.

Nevan gave him a slightly puzzled look, taking a moment to realise what he meant. "You want to _play_ me?" she said, and then giggled, "Sorry cutie, but you're too small to even _hold_ my devil arm form".

Zone cursed under his breath, realising she had a point. "Aw come now, don't tell me you can teleport and control electricity, but can't change the size of your guitar form" he challenged, risking a desperate gambit.

Nevan gave him a long look, surprised by his challenge of her abilities, but eventually smiled; it had been a long time since she'd been played too, after all. "You are a _bold_ little thing. Alright, show me what you've got sugar" she said, reaching her hand out to his front. She placed her palm on his chest, completely covering it, and an electric current travelled down her arm and in a flash she vanished, becoming a hamster-sized demonic guitar in front of Zone. He admired the bluish instrument, and then grabbed it with his paws.

Holding the neck with one paw and placing the other over the strings, he didn't have a strap to hold it up, but Nevan used her power to support herself, letting him focus on playing her. "Whenever you're ready honey" her voice rang out from the miniature devil arm, sounding kind of like an echo of her normal tone.

Zone blinked, gripping her and just adjusting himself to the reality of the situation; surprised he'd managed to convince her to change for him. The rodent wasn't in fact a musician or anything of the sort, and he had no idea how high her standards were or if he had a chance of pulling this off. Still, it was better odds than nothing, he figured, and so taking a couple of steady breaths, he relaxed and slowly felt out Nevan's form.

"Alright" he said quietly, clearing his head and focusing on the task at paw, which he ran over her strings, just feeling her out, Nevan finding the delicate caress he acquainted himself to her with slightly promising. He devoutly memorised the instrument in his grip, then whispered "I'll play on you, my favourite song".

Nevan gave a slight thrum of anticipation, Zone smirking to himself, and then closing his eyes. His paw slid down the strings and he concentrated on only two things, the song in his head and the guitar in his paws, turning himself into a conduit between the two. Running his paw back up her, he began to play.

The first note he elicited from her was a long, writhing thing, sounding like a lightning bolt that had been shackled and was thrashing against its restraints. His paw coursed over her strings to draw the sound out, and as it died he shifted stance and with no further warning, tore into her with a barrage of powerful chords.

Within the guitar, Nevan's soul surged excitedly as the notes reverberated through her with a powerful rising triad motif. She had expected him to play fairly tamely, and dared to hope he might have some spark to his song of choice. But as he repeated the tune at a higher pitch, and then struck a single explosive chord from her and without pause, ploughed into a vamped up version of the melody, she hadn't even imagined he would _pour_ himself into it like this. She was already having a great time when he reached the first verse.

"_I've exposed your lies, baby  
The underneath's no big surprise  
Now it's time  
__For changing  
And cleansing everything  
To forget your love"_

Zone had neither the voice nor the skill of a professional singer, but the raw energy and enthusiasm that rung in every word he sung had a tune all of its own. Going silent for a moment, he ravaged a rising crescendo out of Nevan, who rode the powerful riffs elatedly, and launched into the chorus with abandon.

"_My plug in baby  
Crucifies my enemies  
When I'm tired of giving… Whoa!  
My plug in baby  
In unbroken virgin realities  
Is tired of living… Whoo!"_

Electrical energy was starting to crawl across Nevan's form by the time he reached the end of the chorus, drawing out the words and filling them with such drive as no written language could hope to contain. She was after all a weapon in this form, and her wielder summoned her attacks by playing her, which Zone was doing right now with unbridled passion, sparks flashing between him and the guitar, not harming him at all.

"_Don't confuse  
Baby you're gonna lose  
Your own game  
Change me  
Replace the envying  
To forget your love"_

The currents were running over them both now, and Zone could feel her energy coursing through him, which only drove him on to play even harder. Eyes closed and bent over the instrument in his grip, he sung to it, serenading with paw and tongue as he continued to drive the notes through them both. Blue-white tendrils of lightning danced about them both, occasionally lancing out to earth somewhere in the room.

"_My plug in baby  
Crucifies my enemies  
When I'm tired of giving… Whoa!  
My plug in baby  
In unbroken virgin realities  
Is tired of living… Whoo!"_

Nevan was ecstatic. In the throes of the song, she couldn't remember the last time she was played like this, if there even was a last time. Zone poured himself into the song the same way lightning earths itself into the ground, and the energy he was generating in her was only growing larger and more intense as he continued.

"_And I've seen your loving...  
But mine is gone...  
And I've been in trouble..."_

The succubus could feel the rodent's body heaving, breathless from the exertion of giving himself to this one performance. His lungs were burning and he was fighting to ascend through the notes, to hit the words and fill them with all the energy they needed. Then lapsing into verbal silence, aching from the tension of being in relentless motion for so long as he played Nevan to the fullest, he forced the final riffs to come.

They could both feel it building, the hamster having literally played up a storm, as arcs of lighting flew around him while he worked his way to the final crescendo, the two at the heart of a maelstrom. Zone could feel his body tingling, eyes closed in determination to finish what he started. He ascended the last riff, and, swaying on his feet, shakily rose one arm, and with all the strength he had left, stuck the very final note…

And it hit them both, the climax of the song, Nevan reverberating in musical pleasure as she reached her crescendo. The energy around them overloaded and in an explosion of electricity, they were both consumed by a solid pillar of lightning, coursing right through the rodent, he and the guitar a single circuit, one entity.

Zone's eyes snapped open and he breathed out, rendered speechless. He knew of no words to describe the sensation, and looked down at himself in mute amazement. His body was coursing with electricity, and rather than the tan and white fur he was used to, his saw blue-black patterns, shifting even as he stared at himself, looking like a rolling midnight storm. Also unbeknownst to him, his eyes were shining pure white.

He saw this, and he felt, oh he _felt,_ every fibre of his being simply sing with energy, a sensation that was truly indescribable. Zone wondered faintly if this was Devil Trigger, or at least what Devil Trigger felt like.

Eventually the charge ran its course and left them, the rodent's fur swimming back to its original pattern before fading to its normal colours, and his eyes returning to their usual black shade. Zone dizzily fell onto his back, Nevan lying on his chest, and gasped for air, the experience having drained him physically and mentally. It had been incredible, and he'd loved it, and didn't even miss it, too hyped at having felt it at all.

"… Ooh, _not bad_, rodent" he heard Nevan's echo-like voice, and an accomplished feeling warmed him as she sounded just as thrilled and exhausted as him. _Not bad at all_, he thought to himself with a weary laugh.

"Thanks, did I win?" he asked with a tired grin, recovering his breath as he slowly sat up, Nevan in his lap.

"Oh, definitely" the succubus replied, her form glowing and an arc of energy lancing out into the air in front of them, forming itself into her regular body as the guitar vanished. Turning around, she affectionately scooped up the panting rodent and smiling, said "For a performance like that, I'll tell you everything I can".

----

"Say, you haven't seen a hamster around, about so high, tan and white fur, have you?" Asked Arson, holding his hands about half a foot apart. Lady, who was cleaning Kalina Anne, growled at the mention of the rodent she'd earlier tried to immolate, and pointedly shifted the weapon so the barrel aimed at him.

With a worried gulp, Arson waved his hands apologetically and rapidly backed away, bumping into Reiko as he did. "Has anyone seen him?" the vampire asked, once Arson had picked himself back up off the floor.

The hybrid shook his head, "No one" he replied. Reiko was about to reply, when they heard a door open.

Turning around, he saw the entrance to the Love Planet open, and Nevan stepped into the doorway. In her hands was Zone, and as Reiko and Arson stared on dumbfounded, she planted a kiss on his fuzzy head and bent over to set him down on the floor. "Later cutie" she said with a little wave, before she closed the door.

Zone returned the smile and wave. Once the door closed, turned back around and spotting his friends, waved to them. "Hey guys!" he greeted enthusiastically, jogging over to the two, who just stared at him.

"What were you doing?" Reiko finally found his tongue to ask, mustering up an expectant gaze as well.

Zone met it with an unphased, bright grin, "Just getting the information we needed" he replied innocently.

"Did you?" it was Arson's turn to ask, and seeing Reiko he decided to mimic his haughty, expecting face.

"Sure did, high five guys?" Zone replied with a grin, offering both his tiny paws up in familiar gesture. Out of sheer curious bemusement, Arson and Reiko bent down and, using a finger each, high-fived the rodent.

The moment they touched his paws, both gave a yelp and a sharp spasm in place, as if paralysed. Zone snickered wickedly as the two swayed on the spot blinking, the huge surplus charge that had stuck to his fur having earthed itself through them. Wearing a very satisfied expression, he dusted his paws together, and casually strolled between them towards the front door. He called back after a moment "Come on guys, no time to waste right?". Behind him, smoke started coming out of Reiko's ears, and Arson's hair caught fire.


	15. Terminal Delays

_**Author's Notes:** The first thing I wonder as I write these notes is, I wonder how many people get the silly puns and stuff I use for chapter titles XD. Hehe, anyway, sorry it's been posted so late, but here's chapter 15 :D. Two more cameos, and I know they can be corny, but I try to make them serve a purpose, or at least amuse, rather than just throwing them in senselessly and slowing stuff down. Hannah knows who she is, and Hade is another character of bustahead's. Lastly a thank you to Sin Oan, as something he said in a review inspired me for part of this chapter. I wonder where he's got to? Anyway, enjoy reading 8).  
_----  
After a brief interlude in which Reiko bid farewell to Keahi, and Arson stole some peanuts from the bar, the vampire and hybrid left the building and caught up with Zone, who was waiting outside. A little bickering ensued, but it was agreed that the electric shock he gave them was as fair as them dumping Artemis on him.

With the loose ends tied up, they began walking and Zone started to explain what he'd learned from Nevan.

"But that's right at the other end of the timeline!" Reiko yelled after Zone had finished, the vampire aghast.

Zone shook his head and shrugged, "Don't shoot the messenger" he retorted, feeling a little undervalued.

Arson rubbed his chin, contemplating the news. "So, in a nutshell, we head to the DMC2 fandom, find Matier, and she will definitely know how to defeat Mary Sue, right?" he summarised and asked the rodent.

Zone rolled his eyes and nodded, "Yes, thank you for reiterating that for the sake of the readers" he replied.

Arson blushed a bit and shuffled his feet, while Reiko gave the whole thing a doubting, dubious expression.

"Look, I'm probably the most eager of us to just go get even with Mary Sue" the hamster said agitatedly, "And, yes, this shows all the signs of one of those cliché detours designed purely to draw out the sequence of events and pad progression of the plot. I know those suck but come on, it's not _that bad_. We'll got to the DMC2 fandom, find Matier, which should be easy since it's a minuscule fandom, and she'll tell us how to defeat Mary Sue, then we come back and kick her ass. We're not like, collecting four keys from the four corners of the planet or anything. It's one trip there to collect info, return and implement it, OK? OK? OK".

With that said, Zone turned and not waiting for an answer walked resolutely on, determined that they get on with it. He wasn't fond of the idea of going to five different places just to get where they wanted to, but just one was acceptable to him. They needed one way of securing victory, so they'd make one trip for it. That was the gist of what Nevan had told him; she didn't know how to beat Mary Sue, but Matier definitely did.

Reiko and Arson watched him, and they had to admit, for a half-foot ball of fuzz he carried a surprisingly commanding air. The emboldened rodent was no great leader, but he was still noticeably more charismatic.

Then Zone slowed down, and looked back at the other two. Rather than something like "What's the matter, scared?", or some other taunt from the cocky rodent, they were surprised to hear a shy "Uh, how do we get to the DMC2 fandom?". Zone scratched his head bashfully, Reiko stared and Arson did an Anime face-pan.

After a short, awkward silence, Reiko spoke up. "Alright" he conceded, "It's reasonable. We'll find Matier, she'll tell us what we need, and we'll come back and use it" the vampire agreed, the natural leader of the group, although Zone's impulsiveness had helped set their direction. Thinking about the transport issue a moment, he added "It will probably be quickest to take a plane there, I think there's an airport in this city".

Arson, who was still on the floor, pulled out the peanuts he had stolen earlier and opening the bag, began eating where he lay. "Sho we cafph a plane, find an ofld laphy and we can fin?" he said between munches.

Zone was able to decipher the distorted question a little quicker than Reiko, and replied "Basically, yeah".

Arson's eyes lit up at the prospect of planes, which were fun, and old ladies, who often game him candy, and in one motion swallowed everything left of his snack, including the packaging, and jumped to his feet. "Awesome, we're gonna _flyyyyyyy_!" he cried, sticking his arms out like wings and running down the street.

The other two watched him vanish into the distance, and Zone looked at Reiko, "We gotta fetch him huh?".

Reiko gave a resigned nod, slightly more used to dealing with the hybrid's hyperactivity, and they went to retrieve him before he ate something volatile. When they caught up to him a few minutes later, he was still sticking his arms out and making plane noises, only now he was running on the spot, his head stuck in a jutting out drainage pipe. Reiko went to pull him out when suddenly a voice shouted "Wait, not just yet!".

Stopping in place, the vampire turned and looked across the crossroads they'd come to. He hadn't noticed it before, but in the shadow of a damaged building was an easel with a canvas on it, someone sitting behind it.

"I'm almost done" came the voice again, originating from behind the setup, and Zone went over curiously.

"Uh, what're you doing?" he asked a little uncertainly, walking directly under the easel. Behind it he saw a figure, wearing a white robe that obscured her features, although he could tell she was female, and by her voice, in her late teens at the most. She held in one hand an artist's palette and in the other a brush, with which she was making precise, calculated strokes on the canvas, or occasionally touching it to the palette.

"Just… Finishing" her voice sounded very concentrated, and with a few more strokes, she said "OK, done".

Zone turned around and, looking up, saw, Arson with his head stuck in the drain. Or he saw a picture of it, but the effect was uncanny. The artist had used the bare minimum number of strokes needed to capture the image and not a touch more. There was just enough suggestion in the background to describe the buildings, and Arson himself was a form of colour and shape, which the mind completed into what the artist had seen.

Reiko, who hadn't moved all this time, heard the stranger say she was done, and shrugging momentarily, he gripped Arson's shoulder and with a few good tugs, freed his head from the drain with a sharp _pop_ sound.

While the vampire guided a dizzy Arson over to the easel, Zone was finding out about the stranger. "So, you're an artist, I guess?" he asked, noticing that the canvas was thick with pages of paper she'd drawn on.

"Yep" the figure replied with a nod, smiling from the depths of her robe. "Name's Hannah, I usually do icons and stuff, but today I'm on a special challenge to paint one hundred never-before seen pictures from the fandom. When your friend there" she indicated Arson, "Got his head stuck in the drain, and didn't even stop running, it was too unique an opportunity to pass up" she explained, turning to a new page as she did.

At this point Reiko had managed to guide the stumbling Arson over to them, and sensing no hostile intent from the robed artist, he politely asked "Excuse me, do you know how to reach the city's airport please?".

Hannah held her brush to the side of her face in thought for a moment. "Yes, I did a few paintings there this morning, since it's not actually canon" she replied, stating the reason for Reiko not knowing where it was.

Reiko gave a small smile, glad they wouldn't have to spend ages searching the city, "Great, where is it?".

Hannah hesitated for a moment, and then replied "I'll tell you, but can you do me a little favour in return?".

Reiko paused, and glanced at Zone, who just looked back at him and shrugged, saying, "Well, what is it?".

"Let me draw you? I've never seen a group like you, and it'll only take a few minutes" she asked hopefully.

"Um, alright" Reiko replied uncertainly. It was an odd request, but the reward would save much more time.

"Great, thanks!" Hannah said cheerfully, readying her brush, "Could you guys just pose together, please?".

Reiko nodded and walked out into the street, taking Arson with him, who was mostly stable now. Zone followed, and suggesting they make the picture as cool as possible, got out his lightsabre. Reiko shrugged and followed suit, drawing his staff as Arson took out Dragon and Phoenix. The hybrid gave the rodent a lift onto his shoulder, and then stood by Reiko. Zone leaned on the vampire's shoulder casually from the slightly shorter teenager's with one paw, holding his active lightsabre pointing upwards in the other. Reiko held his staff leaning on the ground opposite of Arson, who had his twin flame swords readily by his sides.

Hannah grinned and began painting the three, the Temen-Ni-Gru directly behind them in the background.

----

Half an hour later and, thanks to Hannah's directions, the three had reached the city's one airport. As the automatic doors opened, they were surprised by how busy it was, throngs of people moving about busily.

"For a place that barely borders on existing in canon, this place does some good business" Zone remarked.

Reiko nodded, but then wisely replied "Well, fans aren't canon either, so it probably prospers from them".

"Where's Santa?" Arson asked, off in a world of his own, both Zone and Reiko giving him a worried look.

The three set off into the hustle and bustle, Zone sticking between the other two to avoid getting stepped on. The airport was indeed very active, and anyone who has been to one should be able to imagine it. Groups of people crisscrossing the open spaces, long lines, rows of display boards and, you get the idea.

It took them a few minutes to find the ticket desk, because they in fact didn't find the ticket desk, but rather the queue leading to it. Reiko peered ahead, but even his sharp eyesight couldn't make out the start of the line, it was lost somewhere in the distance. "I guess we wait" he said, and they settled in for the long haul.

----

"I thought you said this was the quickest way" Zone snapped irritably at Reiko, an hour and a half later.

"It is" Reiko replied dryly, lacking the energy for a sharper retort, his legs aching from standing for so long.

"What's the alternative, walking?" Zone muttered, sitting on a hot dog box from a snack they'd bought earlier from a vender serving people in the line. Reiko gave no response, and sipped Pepsi through a straw.

Arson was not part of this conversation, because he was busy filming a documentary on the nature and habitat of the assorted species of luggage that inhabited the airport with a camera he'd stolen from someone's baggage. "And here we see the lesser spotted Fuchsia Buck-Handled Briefcase, a rare specimen usually only found in secluded adult sleepover parties" he narrated, lying on his front holding the camera.

Suddenly there was a bustle from up ahead, and everyone took a step back, Zone having to move quickly to prevent his hot dog box come seat being stepped on. "I guess someone gave birth again" he said wearily…

----

Finally, two snacks and five documentaries later, they were almost at the front of the line. There were only two people in front of them, but the person being served was being very pedantic and taking a long time.

"Look you complete non-entity of a background figure, I'm clearly far more important than you so stop disagreeing with me!" yelled the irate customer. He was refusing to even hear out anything the poor employee behind the desk had to say, and they were wishing he'd leave them alone to not matter in peace.

Angered more by being held up than the mistreatment of the nameless member of staff, the person behind the customer, and in front of Reiko, snapped angrily. "Shut up and hurry up!" he yelled at the customer.

Reiko looked up at this, recognising his voice, and examining the person in front of him, asked "Hade?".

Turning around, the person's expression changed to one of surprised recognition, as he replied "Reiko?".

By now the person at the front of the line had rounded on Hade for insulting him, and bristling he demanded "And who do you think _you_ are?!".

Hade turned back and first snarled, then posed boldly, "I am Hade! Infamous bounty hunter!" he declared.

"Oh, of _course_ you are, how very believable" the person from the front of the line sneered, having produced a notebook and pen from somewhere. "I suppose you're heavily armed too, highly proficient in a wide range of weapons and hard as nails too, right?" he said, pen poised, his voice oozing with contempt.

Hade was oblivious to the sarcasm however and flexing his muscles replied "And loved by the ladies too!".

"Oh yes, _naturally_" spat the man, noting this all down with a vindictive jotting. "And I suppose you just _happened_ to run into your friends here, by _sheer coincidence_ right?" he continued, moving onto the trio behind Hade. "How wonderfully cliché, happens _all the time_ in real life of course" he said sarcastically.

Hade wasn't quite sure how to respond to this, so after some careful thought, he struck another badass pose.

"And what do we have here, a _vampire_?" the man asked, looking at Reiko like something he'd stepped on.

Reiko winced at this person's continued molestation of the italics, and curtly replied "Yes, I am a vampire".

"Obviously" the man said, stabbing at his notebook with his pen like it had killed a close family member. "Melancholy and brooding, right? Misunderstood and actually a very good, righteous soul ring a bell?" he went on furiously, staring at Reiko like a heretic, "Don't answer, it's written all over you, how_ original_".

Before Reiko could even defend his character, the man started on Arson, demanding "And _what_ are you?".

Arson thought about this, then replied. "I'm Arson, I'm a half-devil half-angel hybrid" he said friendlily.

The man started frothing at the mouth as he replied, "Oh of _course_ you are! Never mind that there aren't even any angels in the Devil May Cry universe, one copulated with a devil and the result looks human too".

Arson appeared uncertain at this, not sure if he was in trouble, so deciding to play safe he hid behind Reiko.

"Oh and what do we have _here_?!" he practically screamed upon spotting Zone, "A _hamster_, who can _no doubt_ talk and think at human level, and has something to contribute to the party despite being so _puny_!".

Zone growled at this, not taking the insults lightly at all, one paw twitching with the urge to grab his lightsabre. "kiss my furry nuts" he retorted venomously, and then added "And I'll have you know I'm very balanced, I've got plenty of character faults, and am only a fraction as effective in combat as the others".

This did little to halt the advance of the raving lunatic, who was digesting one end of his pen while writing everything down with the other, "Oh yes _of course_, I bet there's _so much_ depth to a smart-talking hamster".

The only thing holding Zone back now was not wanting to delay them while something was done about the corpse, having waiting in line long enough. "And who are you, besides a dead man talking?" he challenged.

In response to this, the man drew himself up haughtily, and replied. "I am Hellion Pride, the infamous critic extraordinaire! Through my blind flaming completely unsupported by explanation or advice I've done more for fanfiction writing than the people who created the canon in the first place!" He declared with smugness.

"I'm manly and well-endowed!" Hade shouted in the silence that followed, believing he had walked into some kind of exhibition where people showed off how awesome they were. He struck another badass pose.

The critic pointedly ignored him, and continued. "And I am _disgusted_. You're all _terrible_, the lot of you, unoriginal, unfunny and utterly worthless, how do you justify it all, _how_?!" he pointed at them accusingly.

Reiko, Arson, and even Zone recoiled from the sheer rancour of his allegations, challenging them all to give rational explanations for all their various unusual qualities, or be damned to the flames of criticism.

Given time (which they wouldn't have been), they probably could have done it. But before such time elapsed, Hade realised he'd been insulted, and turned to the critic. "Like this" he replied, and in one motion he drew a gun with a barrel the size of his forearm, and fired, reducing the critic's head to a fine red mist.

"_Thank you_" Zone said to Hade, as the headless body wavered in place and then, still tightly clutching its pen and notepad, toppled backwards to the floor. "No problem" Hade replied, spinning his gun stylishly and putting it away again, Zone a bit envious, having wanted to kill him himself, but also quite impressed.

Hade looked at Reiko, who was staring at him disapprovingly, but he left the vampire for a moment and turned to the desk. Kicking Hellion's corpse out of the way, he walked up to the counter and eloquently explained what he wanted. "Tickets!" he yelled, slamming his fist down on the desk, slightly damaging it.

The nameless employee, who was even wearing a blank nametag, scrambled to fulfil his request, and in gratitude for getting rid of the critic, he even gave Hade free tickets. After some discussion, and more desk abuse, the same generosity was extended to Reiko, Arson and Zone, once Hade had talked to the vampire.

As the four left the counter, Hellion was pronounced dead by expert medical staff and carried off in a body bag. "So, what are you doing here Uke-boy?" Hade asked Reiko as they walked to their terminal, who rolled his eyes, having hoped the mercenary wouldn't try to catch up on old times with him.


	16. On The Fly

_**Author's Notes:** Again, up late in the day, sorry about that. I'll admit this chapter doesn't exactly advance the plot a whole load, it's intended more as a montage of humourous situations using the characters of the story, as well as a host of other people on the plane. After all, Arson, Hade, Reiko and Zone as well as countless others on a metal tube together zipping through the sky, you know that kind of situation can't pass without incident, it would be too great an opportunity missed XD. Anyway, enjoy :D.  
----_  
"Attention passengers, please note that the seatbelt, no smoking and no powers signs are now illuminated as we will be taking off shortly" the air flight staff said to the aisle. "Once we reach a stable altitude you are free to walk around, fill your lungs with cancerous smoke and endanger both the flight and the planet with reckless misuse of your various exotic abilities" she added with a sweet smile, and then she turned and left.

"She was hot, hey uke-boy, do you think I could get with her before we land?" Hade asked Reiko, much to the emotional detriment of the vampire, who clawed at his face in woe. Seeing this, Hade nodded sagely, "Sorry, you're right, that's a stupid question" he said. Reiko looked up in surprise, unable to believe Hade had seemingly just made an intelligent, humble statement. "Of course I could!" the mercenary suddenly bellowed, trying to strike a badass pose, but being restrained by his seatbelt, much to Reiko's secret delight.

Thanks to Hade's crude but effective ticket negotiation tactics, the four of them had gotten first class seats. Normally original characters ride economy, while authors and influential fans ride business, and lastly canon characters get first class. The seating was comfortable, with cushioned armrests, reclining chairs and various other luxuries that none the less did little to aid Reiko's key discomfort. They'd taken their tickets pretty much at random, but had still been allotted consecutive ticket numbers. By a cruel twist of fate, Reiko had ended up being seated with Hade, while Arson and Zone were in the pair of seats ahead of them.

"We're gonna fly!" Arson yelled happily, flapping his arms about so much, one would think he'd take off himself if not for the belt around his waist. Then again, he might just lift the whole plane off the ground.

Zone chuckled from besides him, "You're high enough already" he remarked, lounging back in his seat, which was of course huge to him. His belt covered pretty much the whole of his underside, and did little to hold him in place, but after getting the prettiest flight attendant to help him buckle it up, he wore it anyway.

----

The plane took off without incident, and once at cruising altitude Reiko excused himself from Hade and got up to, he claimed, stretch his legs, although really he just wanted to get away from being called uke-boy.

As he stood to leave, he saw a sugar-treat laden snack trolley roll down the aisle. Knowing what this boded, Reiko turned and ran the other way. Behind him, Arson and Zone noticed the food approaching them…

Once he had reached a safe distance, the vampire slowed down, straightened his clothing, and walked on with more composure. Passing some empty seats, he soon came across a most unexpected sight indeed.

"Tell me what you cherish most…" Sephiroth said with a ghostly whisper, staring into the eyes of Cloud Strife, his archrival. Cloud just glared back defiantly, the two in a deadlock, neither yielding to their most hated foe. "Give me the pleasure of, taking it away" the one-winged angel continued to taunt his nemesis.

"I pity you" Cloud retorted, a surge of defiance and new energy appearing in his Mako-changed eyes, "You just don't get it at all". This earned nothing but a disinterested humph from Sephiroth, who reached out…

"Seven of hearts?" the one-winged angel asked softly, his deadly, gloved hand lingering in front of Cloud.

"_Go fish_" Cloud replied, drawing his cards away from the outstretched hand, his face set in determination.

Reiko gawked as the two adversaries played cards in their seats, their expressions, determination and choice of words no different from when they duelled with swords. The only difference was, they were playing cards. Slowly, the vampire sunk into an unoccupied seat opposite of them. Then, he quietly cried.

----

Back at Reiko's seat, Hade was getting bored; he hadn't hit on, insulted or killed anyone in over fifteen minutes, and was on the verge of going insane. He'd put his feet up on the vampire's seat, so if he came back he wouldn't be able to sit down, but without uke-boy to get annoyed at it, it just wasn't the same.

"That's it, I don't need no stinking stinko Reiko!" he suddenly yelled decisively, and jumping to his feet, set off in the other direction than the vampire went, looking for hot babes.

Passing several seats either empty or containing people who failed to meet his interest criteria as hot babes, the bounty hunter strode arrogantly on. He stood on Alucard's foot, spilled Lupin The Third's soda and shoved Vash The Stampede out of his way. All that without finding one hot chick, Hade thought dismally.

Finally he heard a female voice, and spirits rising, he shoved Yugi Moto out of the passageway, and charged down it towards the sound of salvation for his masculinity. The voice got louder, and it turned out to be two voices, which further raised Hade's mood. Finally he reached the source of the feminine voices.

"Hello… Ladies?" Hade's enthusiasm ran headfirst into confusion as he beheld the people before him. One was a skinny redhead, a little on the young side but certainly old enough to show off to, and the other was, a puny boy, which disappointed Hade, who had expected two females.

Seeing someone new, the boy jumped up and eagerly introduced himself, "Hi, I'm Ash Ketchum from P-".

He was interrupted, however, by Hade's fist coming into sharp contact with his face. "Shut up" the bounty hunter demanded unnecessarily, since the teenager had collapsed into a heap several seats away by now as a result of the punch. Hade had hit him extra-hard since he had a girly voice and had gotten his hopes up.

"_Thank you_" Misty said with relief, who was grateful someone had finally shut up Ash, who kept making out of the blue statements about gym badges and being a Pokémon Master every 30 seconds. She had been on the verge of curling up into a foetal position when the strong, handsome stranger had knocked him out.

"No problem miss, I'm Hade" Hade introduced himself with a bow, which he broke into a badass pose.

"Wow, n-nice to meet you" Misty said, blushing as the mercenary struck another pose for her, the impressed redhead lapping it up. Hade was about to strike a third pose, when two things happened at once.

Firstly, Psyduck popped out of its Pokéball with its trademark call of "Psyiiiyiiyii!", as annoying as ever.

Secondly, Tracey Sketchit wondered onto the scene and asked Hade "Have you seen the snack trolley?".

With perfect synchronisation, Misty turned to her Pokémon and Hade turned to the sketch artist and they both yelled "Get lost tubby!". Misty walloped Psyduck with a gigantic mallet she produced from God knows where, making him retreat into his Pokéball, and Hade kicked Tracey in his chubby gut and sent him flying into the downed Ash. Panting in rage, the two turned back to one another, and stared in amazement.

Hade's jaw dropped, could it be that he had found a babe who not only liked him, but also shared his love for unannounced violence? Smirking with reinvigorated confidence, he began posing with increased fervour. This delighted Misty who watched, amazed, and cheered him on, her mallet nowhere to be seen.

----

Back with Arson and Zone, the two had ambushed the snack trolley, and to the victors had gone the spoils.

Since Zone had no real use for his seat, a tall pile of various sinfully unhealthy yet delicious goods now occupied it to capacity. The hamster was sitting in Arson's lap as he and the hybrid ravaged the ill-gotten harvest of sweets and other goodies that they had reaped, the rodent's appetite all but matching Arson's.

"Mm we've gotta fly more often" Zone declared, punctuating the statement with an impressive belch for such a small creature. Flopping onto his back in Arson's lap, he threw aside the wrapper onto the floor, where it joined the other three left over from the cupcakes he'd eaten, each one roughly as big as himself.

Arson was too busy stuffing his face with chocolate to reply, both hands a blur as he filled his mouth to the limit before swallowing, his fingers a sticky mess. "My yummy is a delicious!" he declared hyperactively.

"I need a drink" Zone said in sugary bliss, sitting up and looking around for something to slake his thirst.

With a snicker, Arson picked up his cup of Coke and, pointing the straw at Zone, he squeezed it hard so the drink came squirting out the end like a hose. "Here, have some of mine" he said with a laugh as he did this.

"Hey!" Zone yelled as he was sprayed with the liquid, covering his face wit his paws as his fur was soaked.

Getting an idea after a moment, he opened his mouth and moved his arms out of the way, the jet of fizzy drink shooting straight into his mouth. Drinking it down greedily, the hamster gulped away as Arson laughed and fed him the entire bottle, Zone letting out a satisfied sigh when there was no more Coke left.

Arson reached down and poked the rodent's furry, and now wet stomach; "You're full!" he giggled.

Zone yelped as he was poked, feeling his recent drink slosh about inside him, and growling playfully he reached out a paw for something to grab. "Full of your drink" he retorted, grabbing hold of a strawberry and lobbing it at Arson's face. The hybrid yelped and covered his head with his arms as he was pelted.

Then, much like the hamster, he had an idea and opened his mouth, snatching the strawberries out of the air as they were thrown at him. Eventually Zone ran out of strawberries, and panting while Arson chewed and swallowed, he giggled despite himself. Arson chuckled back, trying but failing to bite down on it, and soon they were both laughing together, the two having a surprisingly good time enjoying each other's company.

At this point, Cloud Strife walked by dejectedly, in a thoroughly angst-ridden mood after losing at cards to Sephiroth. At the sound of laughter he stopped, and turned his head to see a kid with a hamster in his lap, surrounded by sweets, the both of them laughing happily and obviously having a really good time together.

Staring longingly, half because he envied the kid and rodent who seemed to be really enjoying themselves together, and half because Cloud was secretly a candy fiend, he quietly asked "Um, can I join you guys?".

----

Hade stomped along the gangway furiously, further angered by the fact that there was no one to barge past.

"Stupid yellow rat!" he cursed to himself, looking around for something to knock over. Not seeing anything available, he opened the overhead storage besides him, took out several small cases, snacked them neatly, and then kicked them over furiously. "Stupid fat yellow dumb rat!" he reiterated for the slow of learning.

He'd been doing great, Misty was eating up his poses and he couldn't recall the last time he was able to show off so many. Then, like a little yellow harbinger of failure, Pikachu had wandered along. Immediately Misty's attention had switched to the adorable little cuddly animal, and Hade had been dismayed as she started to cuddle and stroke the rat instead of paying attention to him. He had been about to demand to know what was going on, when the petting had started to get more intimate, Misty kissing the Pokémon full on the lips. When her hand ran between his yellow-furred thighs, Hade had left quickly, severely disturbed.

_Whatever_, Hade thought to himself angrily, she hadn't been that hot anyway, and Pikachu probably had a much smaller dick than him too. He was so busy stomping along furiously, he almost didn't notice Reiko sitting in an empty seat when he passed him. The vampire had gotten his emotional problems out of his system for the time being, and had been enjoying a brief rest, until he was woken with a jab, "Hey, ukey!".

Frowning and opening his eyes, Reiko was dismayed that Hade wasn't just a bad dream, "Oh, hello Hade".

----

Having consumed an alarming quantity of sugar, Cloud Strife had cheered up considerably. Between him, Arson and Zone, their supplies were running low however, and Arson volunteered to go and find more, feeling the need to be active with so much sugar in him. As he left, Cloud continued rambling to Zone now.

"Anyway, and then and then…" he said rapidly, pausing as he struggled to remember the next bit. "Um, oh yeah, and then I slashed him again, like _this_!" he said, making a complex motion with his hands as he did.

"Oh really?" asked Zone, who was a little bored with Cloud's story about how he first performed the Omnislash, which the hamster felt was better seen than told. However he had a fat candy cane between his paws, the red and white sweet length lying up his stomach, and licking it greedily, so he was still happy.

"Oh yeah, really, and then, I did my victory pose, like this!" Cloud declared, drawing his sword and spinning it round in his trademark fashion. The large sword cut into the overhead compartment, causing the bottom to fall out, dumping baggage onto the hyper ex-SOLDIER, as well as spilling his peanuts over him.

"Hehe, you're a nutcase" Zone commented giddily, also high on sugar, but more used to it and thus more in control, only prone to mildly increased cheap jokes and general silliness. Under the pile, Cloud moaned.

Arson meanwhile had located another snack trolley, but much to his frustration it was currently in use.

"What would you like sirs?" the stewardess asked the three gentlemen who all looked unusually alike.

"I'll have… This!" Big Boss said, snatching a bottle of soda water from the trolley with expert skill. Holding it in his hands, he gasped and began turning it over, examining it intently. "This is no ordinary bottled water. The lid cap has been filed down for faster opening, and the neck has been lengthened for increased grip. The conventional label has been replaced with a special material that won't come apart in your hands even if you spill the drink on it, and not only that…" he said, pausing to open the drink and take a swig, "Every drop of this water has been strained through the natural filtering of the mountains for over a century, producing freshness and purity on an unprecedented level" he finished, sighing with satisfaction.

Across from him, another one of the men shook his head. "You're so embarrassing to take out in public father" Solidus Snake said, the tentacles of his inadequately explained super-armour selecting an apple and a packet of crisps from the trolley. Opening the latter, the mechanical appendages began feeding him crisps.

"No one likes you Solidus" Big Boss shot back at his son, who worryingly enough looked older than him.

While the ex-president of the U.S.A. silently longed for a caring father figure, the waitress began to laugh darkly. Suddenly with a blur of motion, she threw off her costume and shouted "Brothers!", turning out to be Liquid Snake in disguise, however improbable that is. With another flourish of motion, he yanked the covering off of the centre of the trolley, to reveal a bottle of alcohol in a kettle, poking out the open top.

Solid Snake, the last of the three men the fake stewardess had been serving, gasped at this. "Kettled Beer!" he yelled in horror, terrified to come face to face with the deadliest mistake of the species; warmed beer.

"That's right brother, after 30 long minutes, this beer has been rendered undrinkable" Liquid declared villainously. His clone brother's eyes were wide with terror at this, but Big Boss seemed less impressed.

"Son, are you gay?" he turned to Liquid and asked, the blond man suddenly choking on his own laughter.

"What?!" he cried out in a mix of rage and confusion, furious that someone would even dare ask him that.

"Oh _come on_ Liquid, everyone knows it's true" Big Boss continued on regardless of the enraged looks Liquid was giving him, "You're blond, effeminate and have a British accent despite being my clone son, which means you should look and sound just like me. What's more when you had Solid Snake's girl at your mercy, you never did anything to her, and you're living inside an old man's body now of all things!".

Liquid just stood there aghast as his sexuality was questioned by his own father, lips trembling. However, before he could do anything, like rebuke Big Boss, admit it or even break down crying, Arson's patience had run out. Seeing that the stewardess was a fake and that the snack cart wasn't coming any closer had pushed him over the edge. "That's it, I've had it with these motherbleeping Snakes on this motherbleeping plane!" he screamed, transforming into his devil form and unleashing a torrent of fire.

The inferno consumed the three clones, although Big Boss was able to dive out of the way, used to facing flames after his battle with The Fury. Changing back into his regular form, Arson dusted his hands together and grinned in satisfaction, and stepping over the charred, moaning forms of Solid, Liquid and Solidus, apprehended the cart. Turning it round, he ran them over with it and headed back to Zone and Cloud.

----

"So she chose the yellow rat over me, me! Hade! What do you think of that!" Hade asked rhetorically.

Reiko's eye twitched. After Hade had rudely woken him up, they had began walking back to their own seats, since the plane would be beginning its descent soon. The entire way back, the mercenary had been telling Reiko at great length a lot of things he didn't care to hear about, and his patience was wearing thin.

"Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more, completely ridiculous, I thought so!" boomed Hade, responding to the reply Reiko had never given. Suddenly the vampire snapped; he could take no more. Wheeling round, he opened his mouth to tell the loud, arrogant, stupid brute _exactly_ what he thought of him once and for all.

However, just as he was about to launch into his reply, the pair of them were run down where they stood. The culprit was a blonde-haired blur with his purple top up over his head. As he stampeded over them they caught his garbled speech, "I am Cloudholio, are you threatening me?! I need Mako for my bunghole!".

Unsteadily the two got to their feet, having been disorientated by the impact, and staggered back towards their seats. As they approached them, they spotted Arson coming the other way with the new snack trolley.

The two converged in the middle, by their seats, but any kind of exchange that may have taken place was put on hold as all three were stunned into silence by the sight taking place before them in their own seats.

Still sat where Arson had left him, Zone had been alone after a sugar-intoxicated Cloud had pulled his top over his head and ran off babbling. However he wasn't alone now, the rodent lying against the back of the seat and letting out happy sighs and moans as two sets of hands rubbed and petted the hamster all over.

"Oh he is just _adorable_!" Rebecca Chambers squealed, medic from S.T.A.R.S. of Resident Evil notorioty.

"I know, he's so cute" agreed Jill Valentine, the fellow S.T.A.R.S. member asking "Whose a little cutey?".

Zone giggled, and responded "I am", smirking shamelessly as the two women just ate it up. They had been lavishing him in adoring attention for a good while now, and all he had to do was be cute and soak it up. The hamster arched and sighed, closing his eyes and slumping back as one hand rubbed his furry tummy, another his head between his ears, and the last two stroked his sides. _This is the life_, he thought blissfully.

Just about then, the signs indicating passengers should return to their seats illuminated, and an annoucnement came on explaining the same. Pouting, Rebecca and Jill realised they'd have to leave, neither of them or Zone wanting them to. "Mm, thanks for your time, ladies" the rodent said politely after accepting it, giving the best nod of apprecation he could while so sprawled out, smiling to both of them.

"Aww, he's so _nice_" Rebecca said, rubbing his tummy faster and leaning in to kiss the rodent farwell.

"Don't be a stranger, Zone" Jill added, also leaning in, and the rodent's tiny furry head was all but lost between sensual female lips as the girls kissed him on each fuzzy cheek at the same time, then left waving.

Zone waved back as they returned to their seats, and then slumped back, a happy blush glowing under the tan fur of his cheeks. "I lobe being me" he sighed, only then noticing the others staring, "Oh, hey guys".

"Hey!" Arson replied, his good mood completely invincible, so long as he possessed the snack trolley.

"I'm fed up of being outdone by rodents!" Hade screamed. Then he stomped back to his own seat to fume.

Reiko watched him go, and turning to look down at the euphoric little furball, gave him a sly grateful wink.

Zone giggled and, not being able to give a thumbs up, just nodded in return, Reiko going to sit down and buckle up. The vampire was looking forwards to enjoying Hade's angry silence, a welcome break for him.

Arson meanwhile gently nudged Zone, who silently moved back over to his own seat, still feeling warm all over inside and out from Jill and Rebecca's petting and kiss. The hybrid flopped down into his chair and began distributing the contents of the snack trolley between him and the hamster. As they dug in, neither of them noticed Cloud and Sephiroth battling, with swords this time, on the wing just outside of their window.


	17. Sightseeing

_**Author's Notes:** The trio arrive in the DMC2 fandom, but find themselves with a little time to kill. Another big thanks to my reviewers new and old, hand on heart, you people make this worthwhile to me :). A quick note to Sin Oan, sorry about the hints at bestiality in the last chapter, it's just mostly Zone's cheeky, flirting personality. As for the Pikachu and Misty thing, that was a small joke regarding what kinds of stories a surprising portion of the Pokémon fandom consists of, it's probably funnier if you're familiar with the situation it refers to XD. Oh and also, Arson's got a habit of occasionally using movie quotes, and was quoting Samual L Jackson from Snakes On A Plane when he swore, hence his use of foul language. Hehe, I guess I should use author response for these kinds of things, but well, I want everyone to understand. Anyway, this chapter's a bit different, but enjoy :D.  
_----  
The sun was sinking behind the horizon like a drunk who had had one too many rounds slipping under the table, as the plane touched down at the Vi Du Marli airport. The passengers disembarked, and most of them headed to their terminals or a café, only using this airport to connect to a flight to their actual destinations.

Zone, Arson and Reiko of course were already at their destination, and so made to leave the airport itself. Hade, who had left the plane with them, noticed this and gave them an incredulous look. "Wait, you're not actually _staying_ in this dump, are you?" he asked, gesturing out the window to indicate the DMC2 fandom.

Reiko sighed tiredly and Arson merely tilted his head in confusion. Zone however, his pride feeling at risk by being association with this place, replied. "_Only_ to deal with a _very_ serious threat" he quickly defended.

Hade's intrigue perked at this, "A very serious threat? Sounds fun" he said, ever ready to go kick some ass.

Reiko's eyes widened in alarm upon hearing this, and thinking frantically, he turned around and put on the most inviting smile he could. "If you want to come along we could really use your help, although of course since we're doing it out of the goodness of our hearts, there's no reward" he said as sweetly as possible.

Hade would not have looked as disgusted if the vampire had hurled his own faeces at him. "_No reward_?!" he roared in appalled outrage. "I don't think so ukey!" the bounty hunter declared before stomping off.

"I thought he'd never leave" Reiko sighed in relief, rubbing his temples. Noticing Arson and Zone were giving him curious and suspicious looks respectively, he quickly added, "Right, lets go find Matier then!".

So it was that, minus Hade who, being a mercenary to the heart, had left in disgust at the notion of charity work, they exited the airport. The DMC2 fandom was poorly charted, and it was getting late, though there was still time left in the day. Undeterred though, they set off to find the holder of their answers, Matier…

----

Reiko peered at the sign, as if trying to convince it to change under close scrutiny. The sign did not comply.

"I can't believe this!" Zone ranted with his typical lack of refrain, "What kind of sage of ancient wisdom is closed on a Sunday?!". The rodent stamped about angrily, although due to his size the gesture lacked effect.

"Umm, a Christian one?" Arson offered helpfully after some thought. Zone opened his mouth to dismiss this, closed it as he realised the teenager had a point, and in the end decided to vent with an agitated sound.

The three of them were stood outside what apparently was the residence of Matier, head of the Vi Du Marli clan of protectors. However much to their dismay, it seemed that the elderly woman wasn't in on Sundays.

Mildly perturbed by this delay, Reiko frowned and pondered their options. Barging in wouldn't make Matier disposed to help them, and she probably literally wasn't in, the building they stood before didn't look like a cosy place to live. Yawning, the vampire realised none of them had had much of a break recently, and looking at things from another perspective, saw this as a chance for some much needed rest.

"Alright, we'll have to wait until tomorrow in any case, we might as well get some rest" Reiko suggested.

The other two looked at him, Arson having had a lot of sugar recently, but he was running low himself. Zone meanwhile realised he was somewhat worn, and hesitantly admitted it, "Yeah… I guess we could".

Reiko glanced at the sky, "There's still a few hours left in the day, if either of you want to go sightseeing or anything" he suggested. It wasn't typical of him to indulge such amusements, but they'd been through a lot.

"Ooh, sightseeing" Arson cheered excitedly, examining the wall besides him as if it were a cultural artefact.

Zone chuckled at this, and while he'd grown to somewhat like the hybrid's hyper enthusiasm, he couldn't share in it this time. "Hehe, no thanks, I think seeing the sights here would put me to sleep early" he remarked, not impressed with what he'd seen of Vi Du Marli so far. "If we've got time to spare, I can think of a couple of useful ways to spend it" he said, indicating he could manage his own day independently.

"Then it's settled, I'll go book a room at that hotel we passed earlier" Reiko said, referring to one of the many nondescript buildings they'd passed while tracking down Matier's place of business. "We should start early tomorrow, so, meet back there at ten?" he suggested, and the other two nodded in agreement.

So they split up to spend the few free hours they'd come into in their own ways, not worried about being alone since they could easily handle any stray demons they encountered in this place alone, even Zone.

----

The reality of a fandom is comprised of several layers or planes of existence that form the larger whole.

At the core is the canon plot, characters and events, forming the nexus or nucleus of any fictional universe. This is scientifically known as Absolute Reality and is the primary plane of existence, immutable and solid.

Of course, being a mostly unchanging state, it serves well as ground to build on, but poorly as an actual setting, as development is severely hampered by the inability for characters to affect anything in the least.

Outside of this is the extended canon; facts not directly stated by the canon but which are more or less certain as logical extensions of those facts, much like hitting the ground is a logical extension of falling.

This is most commonly scientifically termed Extrapolated Reality, and can be compared to liquid. In some cases it is fairly insubstantial and can be more or less disregarded. An example of this would be the colour photo of Dante's mother, Eva, seen in the games. This colour picture would indicate Eva was alive during a time period when colour photography existed, which is very recent, and thus the twins cannot be very old.

On the other hand, much like a tidal wave, Extrapolated Reality can seem extremely solid. For example it is never directly stated that Sparda has the ability to assume human form, but it's implied almost indisputably.

Beyond this exists Potential Reality, the air or gaseous state. This is formed by non-canon facts, characters and events built on top of the canon, not contradicting but extending it. Like air it can be completely disregarded and walked through, and one fanfiction need not pay heed to the implications of another. All the same, while air is frail and insubstantial stuff, without it you cannot fly, in fact, you can't even breathe.

What relevance does this have to our story? Not a whole lot, but it is worth noting that, unlike DMC3 which consists of a devastated city, and DMC1 which is based in an abandoned castle, DMC2's canon contains several locations which imply a whole lot. As a result of places like the developed city and oilrig included in the game, DMC2's Extrapolated and Potential Realities are in fact the most developed in the series. Thanks to this, while the place holds little regard at the canon level, it does a roaring trade by offering all of the services of a big city that can't be founded in a disaster-hit, one or in an ancient castle.

For the sake of completeness, there is also the quasi-reality of the fandom; content that contradicts the core canon. A somewhat ethereal realm, this AU is ignored by most, but it does exist, much like a shadow does.

----

Having checked into the hotel, Reiko decided to just relax and check out their room, which was on the first floor of the small building. Unlocking it with the key he'd been given, he stepped inside and, having no other baggage to unload, hung his coat on a peg by the door. Looking around, he surveyed their quarters.

It was a modest abode, medium in size and low in content. There were two beds that shared a bedside table, a set of drawers in one corner and cupboard in another. A door led to the bathroom, and there was the desk.

Reiko considered that in all the world, the desk was one of the most symbolic things he had ever seen. For here, in a low rate room with little but the basics where every other expense had been spared, sat a desk with a cheap, but modern PC set up on it. It was a testament to just how much people used the Internet these days, and the vampire guessed even the poorest fans wouldn't stay somewhere without private access.

Wandering over, pausing only to feel the bed, which was cool to the touch and more than a touch inviting to the weary vampire, he sat down at the computer and booted it up, figuring he could browse for any news.

The machine took a while to get going, but after a rickety melody of beeps and whirrs, the operating system loaded. Reiko moaned; it was Windows 98. He'd heard jokes about hamsters running on wheels to power shoddy computers, but given that the only hamster he knew was Zone, the image didn't work for Reiko.

Eventually he reached the desktop, and was further dismayed as he waited for the modem to dialup. The vampire was an ancient and sturdy being, but there were some things no creature, living or unliving, should have to endure. 56K was one of them. Once the machine finally connected, he opened a browser window.

Reiko wasn't entirely sure how to search for what he wanted. Anything like "Devil May Cry News" would bring up countless sites on DMC4's imminent release, and "Mary Sue News" would probably bring up even more. After some diligent work though, he finally found a site covering events in the DMC3 fandom.

"Yoohoo!" the virtual Jester screamed out from the screen. Reiko's head fell in exasperation; the only useful site he could find was co-run by that insane clown, Arius being the other reporter in their news team.

Blocking out his irritation, Reiko browsed the site for any information on the fate of the fandom they were working to save from Mary Sue's invasion. Since they'd only left recently, he didn't find much they didn't already know to begin with. However, after a while he stumbled across a special live report, and clicked it.

"-Whoa I'd hate to be charged with fixing up this décor" the slightly distorted voice of Jester played from the beaten up speakers. On the screen, a choppy live feed showed the demonic clown advancing through what looked like a hall in the Temen-Ni-Gru. Reiko's attention heightened; this looked quite promising.

"For those of you just joining us, we've entered the Temen-Ni-Gru itself to get a live interview with the invading force, Mary Sue" Jester informed his viewers, speaking in a loud whisper. As Reiko watched, he realised they were approaching the chamber where Dante and Vergil would have had their second fight.

Eventually they came to a very large door, which would have put an end to their progress there and then, only fortunately it was open. "This is it kiddies" Jester promised excitedly, as he pushed open the doors…

As the door swung back, it slowly but mercilessly revealed a scene that would require such description that, before any such attempt could be made, Jester slapped black blank-outs on all the naughty bits. After all, the clown might be insane, but he still valued his ratings, and what Dante and Vergil were doing would have killed them, save for that niche demographic with particular tastes. "Oops, still kiddies up" Jester said.

Reiko could only watch on as what happened next transpired. Mary Sue was in the room with Dante and Vergil, and was obviously responsible for the act the twins were caught in before Jester wisely and much to Reiko's relief censored quickly. It was all over so quickly; Jester scooted up to Mary Sue and began to ask her for an interview. The blonde woman turned, scowled at him, and then destroyed him with a ruby blast.

Reiko blinked, and took several seconds to digest what he'd just seen. Evidently the playful Mary Sue was no more, this one was quite literally, deadly serious. Turning to the camera, causing Reiko to wonder what poor soul was operating it, she growled "You're not invited". With a flick of her hand, the camera was sent flying back through the door they had come through, which slammed shut shortly before the live feed cut.

Sitting back in his seat, the vampire was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions clamouring for priority. Embarrassment, pity and disgust all wanted a shot at what he'd seen the sons of Sparda being forced to do. Shock and mild regret vied for Jester's sudden demise, as while he couldn't stand the demonic clown, he didn't think he deserved death. Lastly, a quiet rage at the perpetrator of it all built up underneath the rest…

----

Meanwhile, in another place far removed from the entire fandom, Zone was hard at work using his time.

It hadn't taken him long to locate one of the golden statues dedicated to the God of Time. It was quite surprising how liberally the ancient and powerful artefacts were scattered around actually, he thought.

The statues served to allow most to acquire items and powers in exchange for Red Orbs, but the hamster could put them to another use. Through the statue, he was able to leave the fandom, and come to this place.

This was his laboratory, his own personal space, his little universe. This was his home, basically, his own little piece of reality, not much as it was sustained only by himself, but it was his, and he was fond of it.

Not being attached to any fandom or fiction other than his own being, no one could come here but him, unless he was to bring them into it. It was in a way a dream of his made real, but then again, wasn't all fiction? In any case, it gave him privacy, and a place to work or rest, doing things to further his goals.

For example, it was here he had developed his lightsabre, for Zone was in fact very technologically adept. The weapon was an advanced piece of work, and he knew how to make it by heart. It wasn't the only thing he'd made of course, but it was his favourite so far, as it was both stylish and suited him excellently, since it didn't rely on strength for effectiveness. For a six-inch tall rodent, strength obviously wasn't an asset.

However for a long time, he'd been planning and devising something to complete his arsenal, something he could always have to rely on. His lightsabre was great, but he needed something else, and now, he had it.

In front of Zone lay Artemis, the demonic weapon under surveillance by numerous analysing devices. Zone was smart, but it still took a lot of knowledge to create technology, and especially to make a weapon that was effective against human-sized or larger targets that a hamster could employ. But he had finally done it.

Lifting up the device immediately before him, between the rodent and Artemis, Zone marvelled at it. The sleek black pod didn't look like much, but it was in fact the culmination of an incredible amount of research and experimentation. Now, at last, studying Artemis had given him the last pieces to the puzzle.

Put simply, it was a laser, not a blade but a projectile weapon. Not much larger than the solid handle of his lightsabre, the weapon didn't look capable of any real damage. With an anticipating grin, Zone squeezed it just the right way. The weapon opened up smoothly, splitting into two halves held together by a diagonal handle going from the front at the top to the back at the bottom, making it look like a black curved-top Z.

Zone loved that; it was symbolic of his name and everything. The laser was designed to complement his lightsabre so that the latter could be inserted into the former, and he could wield the blade while holding them both. This was useful as when using both weapons, he could quickly combine them to focus on the sword. This helped since, lacking opposable thumbs, he needed both paws for more advanced techniques.

As mentioned before, it was extremely difficult to develop weapons he could use that would have any effect on most opponents for Zone. Even a pistol would be larger than his entire body, and useless to him.

But this laser, this laser was different. It gathered and stored any compatible form of energy available, and could release part or all of it when fired. As a result, it overcame the weakness of being so small by acting to store and conduct powerful sources of energy. So for example, the weapon could store the power of Red Orbs, and if Zone stored enough Red Orbs, could unleash a blast of truly staggering power. The downside was this limited his ammunition to what energy he could find to supply the weapon, and it wouldn't run on anything feeble, like solar power. Still it gave him a means to over time accumulate limited, but vast power.

Spinning the laser around by the central handle in his paw, he deftly drew his lightsabre, inserted it into the weapon, and closed it around the handle of the blade. He activated the lightsabre through the integrated controls on the laser and spun the weapon around experimentally. It was perfect, insertion, balance, the integrated controls, everything. The laser was even made from very durable materials, and even in the unlikely event that it was destroyed, he'd memorised the design. It was part of him now, part of his identity.

"Hehe, awesome" Zone said to himself quietly, licking his lips in anticipation of trying out his newest toy.

----

While Reiko had in the strangest way ended up finding pornography on the Internet, and Zone had used their spare time to arm himself powerfully, Arson, was sightseeing. He had just found a weapons shop.

"Ooh, toys!" he yelled excitedly, bounding into the shop so hastily the little bell that rung when the door opened was sent flying. Looking up from the counter, the owner of the store watched the teenager warily.

Arson stared at the various weapons on display, and eventually the clerk asked "May I help you sir?".

Arson looked over as if seeing him for the first time. Then he shook his head and smiled, "That's OK, I got it" he said cheerfully, and he reached out to the massive blade in front of him, and effortlessly picked it up.

The shopkeeper watched in growing alarm as the young man held the giant sword in one hand, turning it this way and that curiously, then chucking it up and catching it. "What's this called?" he asked curiously.

"Um, that's the Vendetta, sir" the shopkeeper replied, the potential of a sale overriding his nervousness.

"Vendetta huh?" Arson thought out loud, scrutinising it closer. "Does it do anything?" he asked eventually.

"Uh, well, it can do a Stinger" the storeowner offered helpfully, realising a little bit too late it was unwise.

"Oh, cool!" Arson said enthusiastically, and raising the Vendetta, he charged forwards and did a Stinger.

"… Um, s, s-satisfied?" the clerk asked. The tip of the thick sword was mere inches from his sweating face.

"Well, it's alright" Arson said noncommittally; it was a decent Stinger, more than his swords could do, but nothing amazing. "Does it do anything else?" he asked hopefully, lowering the sword to the owners' relief.

Moping his brow, the owner considered mentioning that it could High Time, but glancing up at the low ceiling, decided against it. Besides, High Time came as default on those kinda swords, "Um, not really sir".

"Oh" Arson said, somewhat disappointed. He'd expected more, since even the most basic weapon usually had a couple of techniques. "Uh, got anything else?" he asked, looking around, then spotting something.

The owner was about to answer, when Arson trotted right by the long, thin ornate blade Merciless to the guns section. Most of them he recognised, but pointing to a pair he didn't, he asked "Ooh, what are these?".

"Those are sub machineguns" the shopkeeper replied helpfully, then as he saw Arson reach out to grab them, he hastily added "Those are for display purposes only though!", not wanting to see his shop shot up.

The hybrid pouted, then lowered his hands, and looked about a little bored. "Well, is there anything else to see?" he asked, most of the hope gone from his voice. The guns looked fun, but now he couldn't use them.

"Well, there's the Heart store across the road" the merchant admitted, for though he didn't like to pass on trade he could have himself, he was an honest man. He had little to fear though, for while the idea of the transformation enchanting Hearts intrigued Arson, it was overruled by a higher need as his tummy rumbled.

"Ooh, I'm hungry, where can I eat?" Arson asked, rubbing his tummy with one hand. Realising he wasn't going to sell anything, the owner happily gave him directions to an ice cream shop; away from his guns.

----

It was later on, and Zone had returned to the fandom and the hotel. Arson had come back too after burning down the ice cream shop (he was allergic to it); the hybrid having satisfied his hunger at a hot dog stand.

The two of them headed up to the room where Reiko was relaxing on one of the beds. He briefly recounted what he'd seen on the Internet to them, but all three of them were pretty weary, so they left it until morning.

Zone briefly complained about not having his own bed. But he was tired from the intense focus completing his new weapon had required and quickly settled for sleeping on a spare pillow placed on the bedside table.

Arson went into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later dressed in his Sonic The Hedgehog pyjamas. Zone, who was half-asleep already, looked at Reiko quizzically, since none of them had even brought any baggage, but the reclining vampire shrugged and gave him a "_don't ask_" look, so he didn't.

The vampire was already resting peacefully before they got there, and resumed doing so as Arson folded his normal clothes and set them by his bed. Pulling back the covers, he climbed into bed and glanced over at the other two, noticing Zone had already fallen fast asleep. The little hamster was lying flat on his front in the middle of the pillow, which was more than large enough a bed for him. Reaching over carefully, Arson gently rubbed a couple of fingers between the rodent's ears, stroking the top of his soft, furry head, causing him to smile slightly in his sleep. "Night Zone" he whispered, and then pulled his hand back and looked over to the other bed. "Night Reiko" he said to the resting vampire, and then he lay down to sleep…


	18. Wireless Wisdom

_**Author's Notes:** This was due up yesterday, sorry about the delay, but after university I was really tired and while I had ideas, I was struggling to get them down into solid words. I probably could have done this last night, but I figured one, my creative flow would suffer if it was forced, and two, I'm supposed to enjoy writing this stuff, aren't I XD? Hehe, anyway, thanks again to all reviewers, although it seems there's a clog in the review system on the site right now, but whether your review is visible or not, I thank you. Oh and to Sin Oan, again I thank you for your feedback, I do intend to retain my author's control on the story, but all the same, feedback like yours can help me realise things I hadn't before and cause me to write differently of my own violation :)._  
----  
The next morning, and the trio stood once again in front of Matier's place of work. With slight trepidation that something might somehow go wrong, Reiko raised his hand and knock politely but firmly on the door.

He breathed a miniscule sigh of relief when nothing did, and behind the door could be heard the sounds of someone making their way towards it. A moment later, the door was opened, and Reiko looked down, as did Arson, although Zone still had to look up. "Ah yes, come on in" the very short old woman, Matier, waved them inside before anyone else could say a word, and figuring why not, they entered the building.

As the elderly sage closed the door behind them, Reiko, Arson and Zone had a chance to take in their surroundings. Not one of them could have said it was what they'd expected, even if they didn't know what they did expect. "I didn't expect this" Arson muttered, copying the author as he couldn't think what to say.

The room was sporadically lit and fairly cluttered, various paraphernalia sitting on shelves, occupying floor space or in some cases, hanging in curious fashions from the ceiling. All very typical makings of an elderly sage's abode, perhaps a slightly busy one, but it was the actual objects themselves that stood out as unusual.

Reiko saw a crystal ball, and it was a very good one, the genuine article. The thing that threw the vampire off was the very modern air conditioning unit it stood upon. Arson was peering with shrewd obliviousness at a wide-screen TV with a DVD rack besides it, which held a mix of blockbuster films and spell books. Zone meanwhile was staring at the wireless laptop balanced on the back of a golden statue of a dragon.

"Now, what can I do for you?" Matier asked, snapping them out of their curious inspections. The elderly sage was far too old and wizened to be surprised by a vampire, half-angel half-devil hybrid and hamster showing up at her door. She recognised a group of original characters seeking advice when she saw them.

A little off-balanced by everything they'd seen so far, it took a moment for Reiko to collect his thoughts. Just as he opened his mouth to reply though, he was cut off by none other than the Devil May Cry 2 theme tune. Rolling her eyes Matier stuck one hand into her robes, "Sorry, just a moment" she muttered quickly, and then proceeded to produce a state of the art mobile phone (with camera and all), which was the source of the sound. Flipping it open she said "Hello, who is it?", Reiko noticing for the first time the arcane looking staff she held in her other hand, as she gestured with it animatedly while speaking on the phone.

It was the unspoken agreement of Arson, Reiko and Zone that watching a short old lady wave an arcane staff in one hand, while arguing into a sleek, cutting edge model phone in the other was perhaps the strangest sight they'd seen so far. The three watched with confused, bemused and amused expressions respectively as Matier abused the caller, haggling over a delivery of holy water and blank RW-CDs.

Finally some kind of agreement was met, and Matier hung up on the caller, claiming a valuable moral victory over the evil delivery companies she battled daily. Turning back to her guests, she said "Sorry about that, the delivery companies around here are the devil themselves", speaking of Despair Ltd. Deliveries.

The silence that followed was awkward to approach, much like tap-dancing on jelly could be considered awkward to approach, none of the trio knowing quite what to say. In the end Zone did what he so often did, ill advised or not, and spoke his mind. "You're not exactly the classical sage image" he remarked cheekily.

In a flash, the aged staff whipped out and the cocky hamster got one smart bonk on the head. "You're not exactly the classical tyrant image" Matier retorted, returning her staff to her side, once again unthreatening.

Reiko and Arson stared on first in mild alarm, then confusion, and finally concealed amusement as Zone rubbed his head, wincing slightly from the blow. "How did, you know?" he asked, half annoyed and half unsure, for while he liked to boast, he greatly doubted Matier had heard of his small reputation as a tyrant.

"That's not important…" Matier answered simply, "What's important is that you've come here to ask for my advice on something, now, what is it?" she asked, staring from Zone to Arson to Reiko expectantly.

Reiko stared back in surprise, "How did you know?" he asked, earning a scornful scoff from Matier.

"Give me some credit lad, I'm old but I'm not daft, why else would you be here, to sell me death insurance?!" she shot back sharply, being a busy woman and wanting to just get down to business.

For those wondering, death insurance is a concept invented by, funnily enough, a vampire, for those worlds where death is not such a final absolute. The basic concept is that if, like its inventor, someone can return after dying to personally collect their claim, they can come into a great deal of wealth to offset whatever disadvantages their new existence might include. It's a thriving business thanks to the fact that a lot less people return from the grave than plan to, ensuring that company profits rise every time a customer fails to.

Reiko nodded dumbly and accepted that she had a valid point. "Oh, well…" he paused, about to say they were here to ask for her advice, but by the look on her face she wouldn't stand for such repetition. Taking a moment to recompose his thoughts, he continued "We're here to ask how we can defeat Mary Sue, please".

Matier's face darkened and an expression of concentration crossed it, "Ah, yes, Mary Sue" she said, her tone entirely serious. Walking forwards between them, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, she muttered "I've heard about her taking over the Devil May Cry 3 fandom, dark times, these are very dark times indeed".

Reiko nodded in agreement, and looked from Matier to the crystal ball, imagining the wise woman snaring the distant truth from the ether with mystic rituals. Matier noticed the vampire's expression, and what he was looking at, and shook her head, "No, I used that" she said pointing, Reiko turning to see the laptop.

The vampire's expression fell into something between surprise and disappointment. "You used _the Internet_?" he said, sounding like a child who had just been told the Santa Clause whose knee he'd sat on year after year was Enzo putting on a fake voice, trying to make a few bucks to buy a girl for Christmas.

"When the Heavens split open or the bowels of Hell shift supernaturally, _lad_" she explained gruffly, "I use my crystal ball. But when the problem is invading the soil of Earth, there is no greater oracle than Google".

Reiko winced, and although he was an immortal vampire, there was something about Matier that made it impossible for her not to be your elder. Nodding shyly, he hushed up and let her resume her contemplation.

A few moments of silence passed, and then the head of the Vi Du Marli clan of protectors spoke. "Mary Sue is a very basic yet very powerful entity, she could be considered a quasi-elemental. She feeds on fiction and gives nothing in return, rendering her a parasite, but what makes her uniquely dangerous is how difficult to exterminate she is. Canon characters rarely stand a chance, as the very plots that imbues them with so much of their power are what Mary Sue manipulates to gain hers, chaining a story by imposing ancient arcs of development. This means all but the most distinct stories will be subdued by her, and canon characters will find themselves fighting her in her element. Meanwhile, while original characters don't suffer from this, without an established plot themselves, they are often not powerful enough to defeat her".

Matier paused to let the others absorb this, aware that too much information at once could be confusing. She herself was familiar with these facts, and was fairly sure they knew most if not all of them too. But it was vital they fully grasped all that they implied, namely that when you fight Mary Sue, you fight a world.

"So she can't be beaten by anyone?" Arson asked shyly, not wanting to get whacked on the head like Zone.

Matier gave him an understanding look, "No, she's not invincible" she replied, "Mary Sue is a parasite, her power is stolen from the world and where possible, even the characters around her. To face her is to do battle with an entire story, or at least what parts of it she has successfully manipulated. There are not many powers greater than this, and even fewer that are available to the likes of you or I, however there are some."

"How do we gain the power to stop her?" Reiko asked, signifying they didn't want power for power's sake.

Matier looked at each of them in turn, weighing their worthiness to wield such knowledge. After several moments, she decided they could be trusted, "Very well, I will tell you" she said, all eyes and ears on her.

"Characters define themselves through their surroundings, most of all through each other. The individuality any one character, canon or otherwise, can wield is minimal with nothing to interact with. Friends, enemies, tragedies and miracles, memories and dreams, characters have strength within themselves, but they nurture it through others. Mary Sue wields the power of stories, and the only way to match this power that you might attain, is through each other. Only together can you hope to defeat her" Matier explained to the trio.

The silence that followed didn't last very long this time. "Oh _come on_, so we just all cuddle and defeat her with the power of _love_?" Zone cried in disbelief. He was swiftly rewarded with another thwack to the head.

"Don't be ridiculous" Matier reprimanded the rodent, who was now rubbing his head and staring daggers at her, "Doing so would only play into Mary Sue's hands. It is not about love, or hope or any single concept, it is about your identities. You each possess a unique personality, but it is through relating to each other that those personalities gain definition and integrity. Every time you disagree with one another, surprise one another, learn from one another, you share the strength in yourselves and become stronger. This extends to all aspects of your existence, even in battle. Pretending to all get along perfectly will solve nothing, it is only by embracing the differences between you, recognising your disagreements and distinct qualities and flaws, that you can hope to attain the power to defeat Mary Sue. You must fight together, as yourselves".

Looking from rodent to vampire to hybrid, the elderly sage could see that doubt riddled their resolve. Even if they grasped the principle, it was not something that could be simply done. It required a fine balance and understanding to embrace qualities in someone else that conflicted with ones that you yourself possessed.

Moving to one of the piles of documents littering the room, Matier rifled through it. "Listen, take this" she said, producing an old, battered map and handing it to Reiko, who thought, old maps, this was more like it.

"Thank you" he said with a smile, which turned into a pout as Matier offered him a GPS device as well, the vampire feeling that it spoiled the atmosphere. Rolling her eyes, she bent down and gave it to Zone instead.

"Those will lead you to a dungeon, if you are able to navigate it, you will have developed a strong enough bond between the three of you to battle Mary Sue" Matier explained, snatching a holy water from Arson's hands and placed it back, "I can tell you this, fight together. The rest you must understand for yourselves".

Thanking her in their various ways, the trio left, Reiko with the map, Zone with the GPS and a mild headache, and Arson with nothing as he would probably try to eat it. Matier closed the door behind them.

"Well, I guess we go this way" Reiko said after a moment, looking at the map and pointing up the street.

Zone hesitated, "Are you sure this is for real?" he asked, not entirely convinced about Matier's assertions.

Reiko gave a shrug, "I don't know, but it makes a kind of sense. When we do face Mary Sue again, it will just be us against her. Perhaps the only way to win is to find the strength in ourselves, through each other".

"Plus we get a dungeon all to ourselves" Arson added optimistically, very certain of the fun that entailed.

Zone considered this, and shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right" he said, equally sure of the entertainment a good dungeon offered. "It's worth a shot, and I'm itching for a fight" he added, smiling enthusiastically.

And so, they set off to find this dungeon, learn how to harness their potential through each other, and truly work as a team. Reiko led with the map, Zone aided with the GPS, and Arson trailed, saying "I'm thirsty".


	19. Secrets Of The Passage

_**Author's Notes:** Once again, I find myself unhelpfully tired, having had a friend round all weekend, which lead to me not getting enough sleep before university today XD. But, I managed to get the chapter out on time regardless 8). This chapter is written in a slightly different style from most, as while I could describe each challenge the trio face in depth, or just make them not face many, I think it would be a bit cheap if they improved drastically through too little effort, and I imagine if the next 10 chapters revolve around this dungeon people will find it repetitive. Feedback on the approach is much appreciated, and a thank you to my new reviewers, I'm never sure how much people who review chapter 1 have read, but however much it is in each case, glad you enjoyed it, and hope you continue to do so :). A cookie to whoever gets Arson's reference early on, by the way.  
_----  
"Uh, this looks like the place" Arson said, tilting his head and trying a second perspective to double-check.

"So did the last five" Zone pointed out, and while it was a witty remark, the facts were on his side this time.

Reiko studied the map, perusing the scurrying lines that weaved their way across the parchment like drunks dodging traffic. It was complex map, and grudgingly the vampire verified their position on the GPS. "Hm, no this is the place" he finally concluded, folding the map and pocketing both it and the electronic device.

Looking up, he beheld their destination. It was a worn-looking building jutting from the rocky terrain at the edge of the settlement; the curved dome roof fronted by an archway that held foreboding great steel doors, so big that a chariot could fit through. This was the dungeon they had been tasked to overcome by Matier.

Arson joined Reiko on the beholding, appreciating the plain yet ancient grace of the structure, which was but the entrance to the dungeon. Someone somewhere managed to organise a punctual ominous silence.

Zone meanwhile just rolled his eyes, scoffing in disinterest and glancing across to the other side of the path. There a near-identical ancient gateway to some other hidden depths of the island stood, only this one had a triangular-pyramid style roof. Vi Du Marli had so many mysterious dungeons that there was a separate guidebook dedicated to them, and they had seen a considerable number of the foreboding portals; they were scattered about like chalets at Center Parcs. You couldn't turn around without tripping over secluded entrances, the hamster thought with ironic amusement. Still, he chuckled, it's what's inside that counts…

----

The doors closed behind them with a resounding slam, even though it could probably be easily opened again. Reiko, Arson and Zone walked into the chamber, their half-dozen eyes taking in the surroundings.

The roof was a curved dome on the inside as well as the out, and from the centre dangled a gently swaying chandelier bedecked in burning candles. The slight pendulum-like motion of it causes the shadows in the room to sway, as if chanting in some dark ceremony. Some pillars and other architectural features kept up appearances, and at the back, from the perspective of the door, stood a marble statue of a generic feminine Goddess. She held a set of golden scales, and lastly to either side of the statue there was a door in the wall.

"At least she booked us a nice dungeon" Arson said, paraphrasing tourists around the world, save for the substitution of the word "hotel" for "dungeon". They walked up to the statue and Reiko examined it closer.

"Don't tell me, we have to fetch at least two key devices to activate this thing and make real progress" Zone cut off the vampire before he could hypothesise on its purpose. Reiko just sighed and nodded in reply.

"Lets see what's behind door number one!" Arson declared excitedly. He leapt round the left of the statue and barged through that side's door. Reiko looked at Zone, who took his turn to shrug, and they followed.

----

They caught up to Arson in the following chamber, which was a fairly nondescript brick room, save for cells lining the walls on each side, their insides shrouded in darkness, and a barred door at the far end.

There was also a lever in the middle of the room, which Arson was staring at, "Ooh, Edisony" he sighed.

Reiko was about to suggest caution, but then looking around, he reconsidered. There were no other apparent ways out or forwards that weren't blocked. It might be dangerous and daft to pull a mysterious lever just lying there, but they'd have to do it anyway to get anywhere. "Go ahead, pull it" Reiko surmised.

Arson did so, and none of them were surprised when the floor rumbled, or when the bars to the cells raised, or when the animated skeletons carrying crude weapons and wrapped in torture cages came stumbling out.

"Do either of you get the feeling this is going to be a long day?" Zone asked idly, drawing his lightsabre.

Reiko glanced about with calculating eyes, reaching for his staff, ever alert to take a threat seriously. "Perhaps, but only if we survive to the end of it" he remarked, bringing his weapon into a ready position.

"I've never fought a sardine before" Arson commented on the skeleton's cages, tilting his head curiously, then drawing his swords. Zone considered his friends' points of view, and realised this just might be fun…

----

The caged foes weren't tough competition individually, but their numbers were considerable, and it proved a decent challenge for the trio to simply not be overrun. Eventually they whittled the horde down though.

Dragon scythed through the air and met with little resistance as it parted metal bars very much like a hot knife through butter. The blade impaled through the torso of the reanimated corpse, shattering bones. Arson turned and stabbed Phoenix into the leering skull of another enemy opposite the first clumsily trying to gore him with a cleaver. With an acrobatic backflip he twisted the blades inside his foes, dismantling them, and delivered a kick to a third noisily trying to sneak up on the hybrid, who landed and turned to finish it off.

Reiko meanwhile was having a slightly tougher time, as the cages of his targets gave them some resistance to the bludgeoning strikes of his staff. However its wide range and solid impacts allowed him to control the space around him, and he was slowly but methodically eliminating his targets, almost none remaining now.

Turning to check on his friends, he saw Arson was doing fine, and turned to locate Zone. He spotted the hamster thanks to the distinctive red glow of his weapon, and saw that he was being crowded in by several enemies. Seeing this, Reiko shoved away his own foes and made to help him, yelling "Be defensive Zone".

The hamster heard him, and glanced at the vampire who was charging to his aid. However, rather than buying time, he stood his ground, grinning with determined eagerness. One skeleton slashed down, but the small, nimble and hard to hit rodent dodged to the side and leapt up at the now bent over creature. Grabbing the metal cage, he rapidly ascended its torso and began slashing apart everything in reach between the bars.

The possessed corpse was too sluggish to stop him, and it began to fall apart, the magical energies binding it dissipating. Zone kicked off of him and narrowly avoided another blow that would have cut him in half, the blade's passage ruffling his fur with the air currents. Flipping agilely in midair, he swung his blade round in a wide vertical arc, cutting a hole through the metal casing of the carcass that had tried to recruit him. His trajectory carried him through the gap and onto the creature's skull, which he swiftly ran through.

At this point Reiko arrived and cleared the area around the collapsed corpse with wide swings of his staff, Zone squeezing out from between two rungs of the caging as he did. The vampire smacked back another skeleton, not turning away from the fight as he said to Zone, "You should have played safe until I arrived".

Zone looked at him, and twirled his blade around in meaningful gesture. "I can handle myself" he replied.

Reiko glanced at him, and although the rodent was being a little stubborn, he felt a sort of understanding, Zone wanted to prove himself, and to have his own achievements. "I know you can" Reiko compromised, as the ring of enemies closed in, "but we need to learn to fight together, to become stronger" he reminded.

Zone digested this, and realised he was right. "Fair point… OK, I will next time" he admitted sincerely, the cadavers almost upon them. Reiko grinned slightly, proud of the rodent's humility. Then battle resumed…

After they finished off the skeletons, the far door unbarred, and the trio advanced further into the dungeon.

----

Arson was carefully climbing his way up a giant cogwheel, whimpering as the ancient thing creaked under his every motion. Below him, Reiko and Zone were watching on, the former too heavy for the wheel to support, and the latter too light to operate the rusted lever located inexplicably on the wall above the cog.

"Don't rush" Reiko advised, as Arson slowly clambered over another of the large, awkward teeth that lined the circumference of the cog. Zone remained silent, but at his side he had his paws crossed for the hybrid.

Suddenly, there was a _twang_. Arson froze, his eyes slowly widening in horror as the wheel beneath him groaned, sunk a little, then with a clunk dropped to the floor, and began to roll. "_Mommy_…" he whimpered.

Influenced by the teenager's weight, the giant wheel turned towards the side Arson was on; the hybrid climbing over the next tooth, which only made it turn faster. Zone and Reiko watched agape as it rolled away from the series of similar cogs it had been part of, Arson scrambling to stay atop faster and faster, feeding its momentum, right towards them. The two slowly turned to look at each other, and then split.

"Where are the breaks?!" Arson wailed, now making long leaping strides in place from tooth to tooth to stay on top of the runaway wheel. The cog wobbled as it rolled across the room, veering this way and that, until finally settling down on a course, aimed right at Zone. The rodent gulped, it was too close and moving too fast for him to get clear of it now. Closing his eyes he tensed up and waited to become even shorter.

The wheel bore down on him mercilessly, steel teeth ready to grind him into a furry paste… And rolled right over him, the tiny rodent being spared as his patch of ground coincided with a gap in the cog's teeth.

Opening his eyes slowly, the hamster blinked, did a quick feel over of his body to make sure it wasn't lacking any vital dimensions, and turned to see the wheel rolling away from him. Suddenly he snapped out of his daze, "Run the other way, you're just making it faster!" he yelled after a highly distraught Arson.

The hybrid glared at the rodent; "I'm not a hamster, I don't know wheels!" he defended himself angrily.

"It's basic physics!" Zone shot back, "Turn around and apply force in the opposite direction bit by bit!".

Grumbling Arson managed, with great difficulty, to turn around so that he was now running awkwardly backwards. Concentrating as best he could, he met each tooth of the cog with some resistance in his step, and eventually it began to slow down. Smiling hopefully, the hybrid looked up from his feet, only to see a series of low arches rapidly approaching him. "Aah! Scene change, scene change!" he cried out frantically.

----

"Was Matier under the impression that one of us could fly?" Zone remarked some time later in irritation.

It was a mostly rhetorical question alluding to the seemingly rhetorical puzzle they faced. There was another lever they needed to operate. The problem was, it was located in an alcove _high_ over a pit of lava.

"Perhaps" Reiko mused, not discounting the possibility, "I don't think anyone could jump that far or high".

Arson walked forwards and curiously peered over the edge into the lava. He winced at the intense heat that rolled up into his face, "Too spicy" he remarked, the superheated liquid dangerous to even the fiery hybrid.

"If only it was a button we could throw rocks at it or something, dumb levers" Zone remarked off-pawedly.

Slowly, Reiko turned to look down at the hamster, who after a bit noticed him staring at him thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea" the vampire said, rubbing his chin and glancing between the rodent and the lever.

Zone gave him a cautious look, backing away slightly, "What exactly are you getting at?" he asked warily.

The two stared at each other a moment longer, and though nothing was said in that, a silent communication passed. "I won't miss, I promise" Reiko said, leaning down and placing his hand palm-up in front of Zone.

The hamster hesitated, but swallowed his fear and climbed into Reiko's hand, "Better not" he half-laughed.

"I won't" Reiko said, standing up with the small rodent in his hand. Feeling his friend's weight, he was again reminded how small and light he was, and also could feel the warm softness of his fur against his skin. Even clutching his lightsabre, in case anything attacked him or for moral support Reiko could only guess, Zone looked so little and harmless, sitting anxiously entirely in the palm of the vampire's hand.

"Be careful" Zone said, as Reiko held him securely, drawing his arm back slowly and staring at the ledge. He gave a reassuring nod, and then squinting his eyes, threw the rodent with precise force and trajectory.

"Whee!" Zone yelled as he sailed through the air, grinning madly. It wasn't the most profound statement ever, but when you're flying over a pit of lava, you have to say _something_. He arced towards the platform, and landed, rolled a couple of rotations, and came to a stop, standing up to find himself only slightly dizzy.

"Are you alright?" Reiko called across the gap, able to make out Zone was upright thanks to his good eyesight. The rodent turned and signalled that he was, and then turned back to the lever he had to operate.

Climbing up it, he reached the top of the pole, and thankfully it wasn't badly rusted at all, and a couple of goes of throwing his weight against it got it to shift. Jumping down, Zone turned, and spotted something.

Neatly tucked away in an aside to the alcove, was what looked like a jutting growth of glowing red crystal. Glancing over to the others, he saw they were taking care of things, and so he went up to it to investigate.

"Hm, thought these were only in Devil May Cry 3, guess they're importing" he remarked, recognising it at last. Experimentally he took his lightsabre, and with a quick thrust, broke the surface. Sure enough, crimson energy bled out of the hole, and a grin crossed the furry features of the tiny tyrant. Widening the hole with another stab, he drew his laser gun, and stuck it in, the weapon began to store the crystal's Red Orb energy.

Back with Arson and Reiko, the lever had caused a button to be revealed, and so Reiko pushed it. This in turn made a path extend from a wall at the same height as their platform, bridging over the lava, while at the far end another tiny alcove opened, revealing a shiny object, no doubt one of the keys that they needed.

"Cool, free samples" Arson remarked, Reiko chuckling at how casually Arson strolled to cross a pit of lava.

"Wish it was two for one" he replied, recalling the two doors back in the first chamber, implying two keys.

Arson meanwhile had just set foot on the bridge, which had already cooled, being made of some heat-resistant metal. However another hazard made itself apparent, as the moment he stepped onto it, demons began to emerge from dark portals that began spilling over the length of the narrow, precarious walkway.

"Hey, no cutting in line" Arson complained, but even so he jumped back, not wanting a fight on the bridge.

He reached back to draw his swords. He needn't have bothered though, as behind him, Reiko calmly pushed the button again. Without delay, the bridge began retracting into the wall again, the demons looking around in sudden alarm. Arson stared, then turned that stare on Reiko, who offered a shrewdly innocent shrug. "I think they decided to withdraw" the vampire remarked over the sound of sizzling, Arson giggling.

He extended the bridge again, and Arson crossed it, sniffing the air as he did, "Lets have a BBQ when we're done" he suggested. At the far end, he stopped and picked up the artifact on a pedestal in a previously concealed chamber there. It was a cube with unusual holes drilled through it from all sides.

"Hey, look out below" Arson heard, and looking up, he saw Zone jump down from the alcove directly above him. Pocketing the object, Arson held his hands out and caught the hamster, whose light body meant he was barely shaken by the drop since it was into a soft landing. Together they crossed back over to Reiko.

----

Zone stood his ground as the slavering demon rushed him, and tried to grab his small form; he loved it when they did that. With a quick slash, the hands that were about to crush the life from the rodent were severed, the deceptive range of 4 inches of pure cutting energy literally disarming the attack in its tracks.

As the entity recoiled back, Zone rushed forwards and, leaping up, drew a long rising slash up the beast's underside, splitting it open. The demon dissolved into a pool of dripping darkness, which then evaporated.

Taking a moment to look around, he saw Reiko and Arson were similarly engaged with the enemy hordes, this being the latest in a growing number of battles they'd fought. Zone knew he was the weakest of the group in combat, and accruing the least kills, but he was alright with that now, though he still strove to do better. What mattered to him was that he was contributing, and all things considered doing well personally.

The moment ended as another demon saw him, and grinning keenly, Zone raised his weapon, swinging…

----

… Swinging dizzyingly, the giant pendulum seemed to be trying to throw Arson off as the hybrid clutched on for dear life. Staring down, he gulped as he saw that, unhelpfully, the spike pit wasn't on a lunch break.

Shimming further up the metal trunk, he didn't dare look away to see if Reiko and Zone were doing anything. He did dare a humble peek around his own proximity, only look at things very near to him, as if trying to deny the universe a chance to realise how high up he was, afraid what it would do if it found out.

Seeing his target platform, he waited until the pendulum was at the extreme of its arc, and leapt, reaching…

----

… Reaching into the socket, Reiko smirked as he retrieved the second of the keys they needed. It was like the first, only it was shaped like a triangle-based pyramid. Turning round, he showed it to Arson and Zone.

"About time" Zone said, relieved to have finally gotten both keys, even if the fighting parts were enjoyable.

"The montage really helped" Arson remarked wisely, nodding his head while Reiko and Zone shook theirs.

"Care to open us a door in the fourth wall and take us back to the first room?" Zone replied sarcastically.

Arson tilted his head, giving the hamster a curious look, and shrugged. "OK, if you like" he said helpfully.

----

"You have no shame" Zone scolded Arson, who whimpered and hid behind the marble Goddess statue.

Reiko looked about at the chamber they'd initially come to, and shrugging, took out the two keys and put them each on the scales. The balancing plates wobbled, and then sunk, causing the Goddess's arm to lower.

A low rumble ran through the room, and Zone yelped as the floor jerked beneath him and gave way, sending him plummeting all of two feet. Reiko and Arson watched as a spiral staircase depressed and defined itself in the floor in the middle of the room, Zone sitting a few steps down and rubbing his behind.

"I guess we go down" Reiko said, hoping that this was real progress, and not just a minor step forwards.

"Powerful observation" Zone replied cockily, standing up and peering down the staircase, Reiko and Arson wandering over to do the same. It wasn't inviting, but it was the way, so the trio descended into the dark…


	20. The Nature Of Unity

**Author's Notes:** I seem to have hit a sudden shortage in reviewers, hehe XD, I guess people are just busy at this particular time of year, no worries. I do hope my regulars get around to reading this though, as it's a major and climatic chapter, the longest to date and hopefully will prove highly enjoyable 8). Since it's so long I'll let it speak for itself and just say I hope it's a fun read :D.  
----  
The spiral staircase wound downwards for time untold, mainly because no one descending it had a watch.

"What is the point of building things this deep underground anyway? You're just wasting subterranean real estate in the gaps and making it take longer to get anywhere" Zone's voice complained out of the darkness.

"Maybe the ground above was too expensive" Arson suggested, feeling his way with one hand on the wall.

"Haha, that wouldn't surprise me actually, considering they couldn't even afford some lights" Zone replied. He referred to the lack of torches or any real illuminative sources in the vertical shaft they were descending.

Reiko, who was in front, Arson behind him and Zone in the rear so as not to get stepped on, had taken the lead because he had the best night-vision. It had proven to be of no use however, but none of them felt like changing ranks on the steep, narrow stairs, nor was there any advantage to doing so, so he'd stayed in front.

Just as the vampire felt it apt to placate the rodent's irritation, though, the way ahead became fractionally lighter. "I think, we're near the bottom" he said guardedly, not wanting to count his eggs too soon. As they moved further down though, light began to creep into the twisting shaft, and finally the staircase ended.

"Someone should install an elevator" Zone opined as he hopped off the last step, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light around them after so much time in pitch-blackness. The rodent had keen night vision himself, incidentally, but like Reiko he couldn't see in total darkness. Rubbing his eyes, he joined the others in surveying their new surroundings.

The staircase came down out of a curved depression in the ceiling, in the middle of the room, looking for all the world to the hamster's eyes like a hanging bosom. By this point the rodent didn't have enough patience to endure a tedious description of the room's unimportant details, so we'll stick to the essentials.

It was a rectangle, somewhat similar to the main body of a church where the pews would be. Right where Jesus would be hanging out on his cross was a very large, central and important looking door. In the left and right walls respectively near this end of the room, were several smaller, less important looking doors.

"Thank God for conciseness" Zone remarked, walking towards the big door with a sense of purpose. Reiko followed him, while Arson lingered a moment to charitably admire the white marble and obsidian angels and demons clashing in murals across the walls, feeling sorry for them for being neglected from the room's description. Once he was done being generous to the architecture, he joined the others in front of the door.

"I can't help but suspect…" Zone said with sarcastic shrewdness, as Reiko attempted to push open the door, "That we're expected to venture through every one of these side doors and acquire keys for the sockets on this door". Examining the emblem on the sturdy portal, he counted six distinct shaped gaps.

Giving one last shove, Reiko leaned against the door, even the patient vampire giving an exasperated groan as he glanced at one set of detours. "I'm inclined to agree" he replied, knowing time was ever against them.

Arson counted the side doors, "… Five, six, aw man, we'll be at this for the whole chapter!" he whined, slumping down into a heap on the floor, even his capacity for being easily entertained having its limits.

While the hybrid scrawled complaints in the dust, and Reiko lapsed into a contemplative silence, wondering how best to overcome the obstacle, Zone took to looking around to relieve his boredom.

Walking off to the left, he strolled past each of the doors on that side, basic wooden affairs, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Probably just as repetitive inside" he criticised out loud. "I mean honestly, just the same thing over and over again, where's the fun in that" he asked rhetorically. Looking back at his companions, he saw Reiko standing in a dark, brooding posture, and Arson playing noughts and crosses against himself in the dirt, snivelling every time he lost. "Oh, screw you Irony" Zone spat at the empty air.

As he turned back to walk to the others, something caught the rodent's eye. Looking carefully at a patch of wall at ground height, he took a couple more steps. There it was again, the details of the wall weren't quite right. Getting closer, he realised that this was because there was in fact a tiny passage running into the wall, the insides having the same surface texture as the rest of it, rendering the minute opening almost invisible.

"OK, this is strange" he thought out quietly, bending down and to look into the tunnel, which was only half even his height. It was eventually swallowed up by darkness, but from the looks of it, Zone reckoned it ran into the room on the other side of the door. Zone shook his head bemusedly, trying to fathom its purpose.

To save time, we will briefly explain that the small tunnel existed as part of a ventilation system within the dungeon. While the architects couldn't care less for the luxuries of air conditioning, it was vital to prevent rooms becoming unintentionally airtight, as vacuums could cause serious problems. For example, it would be almost impossible to open a door outwards into a chamber with a vacuum in it, or inwards into one with no place for air inside to escape out of. Zone would later figure this out, but we shouldn't hold things up.

Regardless of its purpose, Zone turned on his lightsabre and used it to illuminate the tunnel better. Doing so allowed him to notice a small diverging path, which from the looks of it ran towards the door itself. Curious as a rodent would be, he ventured along, having to go on all fours, as it was a fairly cosy fit for the hamster.

Sure enough, feeling a streamlined breeze playing through his fur the whole time, his investigation revealed that the tunnel ran into the next room, although he thought best not to explore there alone. Meanwhile the side path led right to the door. The hamster scanned down the divergence, and he realised it led straight into the actual locking mechanism of the door itself, providing an escape for air as components moved around.

Turning round and heading back to the other two, having only been gone a minute, Zone began to ponder. The rodent was highly knowledgeable in technology and engineering, and with say, a precise cutting tool, it should be possible to pick the lock from the inside. Considering it was a multi-part device though, it would involve remaining inside the mechanism as it shifted from one state to the next, carrying the risk of being trapped and crushed by moving gears and other things. One would also need someone with a good ear, such as oh say, a vampire, to listen from outside and locate the parts relevant to the sockets in the correct order.

Walking to Reiko, who was stood near the door, and thinking of the tunnel, a plan formed in Zone's head.

"Hey, guys" he said, Reiko looking down and Arson looking up from his dirt doodles as the hamster spoke, "You know that part of a story, where the typically least effective though enthusiastic member of the team, who isn't as capable as his companions in things like combat, proves their worth to the group by doing something only they can do due to traits of theirs that are usually considered useless or even a handicap?".

The hybrid and vampire blinked in mild confusion, Reiko absorbing the rodent's unusual question first. "I'm generally aware of the tradition, yes, why do you ask?" He replied, curious of Zone was getting at.

Glancing sideways at the vampire as he faced the door, the rodent cracked a devilish grin. With a sudden jolt of motion, he drew his laser gun, opened it up, twirled it expertly in his paw, then took aim and fired.

With a cacophonous birth-cry, crimson energy spewed forth from the muzzle of the weapon in dissonant eruption. A solid pillar of light, hued the same colour as the Red Orbs that nourished it, collided with the sealed portal, reverberations of the conflict ravaging the room stained in the writhing of tortured shadows.

The door was no meagre construction, built to withstand the attacks of the mightiest demons. However, as the spear of channelled power persecuted it, another component was found lacking. With a rising chord of tormented stone, the walls around the besieged gateway spat cascades of dust and rubble as pleas that went unheard. Finally, with a splitting crescendo, the entire section of wall that the door was planted in gave way, jagged fractures splitting the stone from its brethren. The detached element crashed into the invaded unknown beyond, vast clouds of dust and earth rising up, only to bow their final respects to the vanquished.

"Yeah, well screw that" Zone said, finishing the earlier dialogue. With a look of supreme satisfaction, he spun his beloved laser gun around, kissed it fondly, and put it away again. Yeah right like he was going to jump into the less-than-proverbial meat grinder. Not when a more direct approach was available, even if it did cost him thousands of Red Orbs worth of energy, the tunnels through the wall having led him to wonder about their structural integrity. "You coming?" he asked the other two with delighted smugness, the rodent navigating the debris of the destroyed door, while Reiko and Arson watching him with gaping expressions.

----

Once the vampire and hybrid had overcome their initial shock, the three of them climbed over the huge slab that was the door and surrounding wall, lying face down in the next room, and entered the new area warily.

It was a round chamber, save for the newly created breach, the diameter of the place fairly considerable, so that even the large chunk containing the door hadn't strayed to the centre. Speaking of which, the most defining detail of the room was the large symbol covering the floor in the middle. It resembled an arcane sort of dial with ten runes around the perimeter, each one a good metre squared, the markings a dull red.

Before they could explore any further, a faint rumbling became apparent, and began to grow. "It's not my tummy" Arson said, looking around nervously. On instinct, he drew his twin blades Dragon and Phoenix.

"What are you looking at me for?" Zone complained as he noticed the vampire staring at him suspiciously.

"Well, you did just blow a huge hole in the wall, and we are _underground_" Reiko retorted. Even so, the two of them drew their respective weapons and glanced around, sensing a more sentient threat than a cave in.

Moments later, their instincts were proved correct as with roars of shattering stone, several creatures burst from the ground all around them. The dust quickly settled to reveal large humanoid lizards wearing armour.

"Blades…" Reiko muttered, recognising them instantly. They were mid-level opponents in DMC1, and thus would be highly dangerous by DMC3 standards. They were in short, formidable adversaries in groups.

"Alright, a _real_ challenge" Zone grinned, ever eager to test and prove himself, his lightsabre up and ready.

"We must fight them together, use the team skills we've developed" Reiko cautioned as the Blades circled.

"Huh, we developed team skills?" Arson asked, glancing away from the last Blade bursting into the room.

"Of course! We did it mostly off-screen in the previous chapter, remember?" Zone told the hybrid tersely.

"Oh, right, yeah" Arson muttered in a scolded manner, recalling now their unrecorded combined fighting.

"Focus you two, they won't wait" Reiko warned, counting ten Blades in total, who circled, and attacked…

The three charged to meet with the cold-blooded demons in battle. The mutated lizards were agile and lethal opponents however, not to be easily brushed aside, and the trio were swiftly tied up in fierce fighting.

Trading parries and strikes with four of the beasts, Reiko was being pushed hard to stay ahead of all of their deadly slashing claws, shoving one away and bringing the other end of his staff back to block a claw aimed at the back of his head. With a kick he forced the attacking lizard back, and spared a glance for his friends.

Arson was holding his own against four more of the creatures, proving an equal to them and actually landing a few blows where Reiko was struggling. Looking the other way, the vampire saw Zone doing his best to fend off the remaining two lizards. The rodent was in constant motion, dodging and jumping and doing everything he could to just stay ahead of the slashing claws. He was managing to land a few light slashes with his own weapon, but they were only fleeting blows and just one slip up would mean his end.

Seeing one of the Blades lunge for him, Reiko stepped back, and then jumped up, slamming the creature down and using its mass to pole vault out of the group surrounding him, going to the rodent's aid. Catching one of the lizards off-guard with a blow to the side, he gave Zone enough breathing space to jump over a thrust aimed to run him through, and cut a deep slash across the monster's hand, making it back off as well.

"Thanks" the rodent said as the two of them stood back to back (well, back to ankle). He could most likely eventually have bested the two lizards, providing he didn't make a mistake, but he appreciated the help.

"No problem" Reiko replied, the two having a brief breathing space, then the Blades were on them again. Reiko swung his staff round, striking, reversing, parrying, fending off the swarm of monsters to the best of his ability. Zone darted back and forth making attacks or preventing them where he could, jumping through the vampire's legs to slash at the underside of a beast that was attacking Reiko, the two fighting together.

"Reiko, give me a lift!" the hamster shouted suddenly, and understanding, the vampire brought one end of his staff down to besides the rodent while fending off two Blades with the rest of it. Zone grabbed on and a moment later was swept up as Reiko brought the staff round in a wide arc, hammering it down on a Blade.

The lizard caught the blow with both arms, hissing with savage rage. However, its eyes caught a blur of motion, and before it could stop him, Zone scurried along the pole, and jumped off the end onto the monster's back while its arms were still busy occupying the recoil of the strike. Whipping his lightsabre round as he fell, the rodent stabbed it into the exposed back of the creature, jamming it into his spine and using his momentum to cut a long slash right down to its tail. The creature screamed and flailed in agony, releasing Reiko's staff, which came round in a brutal reverse arc and caught it with a crack under the jaw.

The lizard was sent flying into a facedown crumbled heap from which it did not rise by the blow, already as good as dead after having its spine severed vertically. Zone grinned at having scored a kill as he stood atop the body, then watched in fascination as a floating, glowing sphere of light detached itself from the carcass.

Temporarily separated from the action and Reiko, the hamster watched the light drift over the room, and then float to the floor, where it seemed to dissipate into one of the runes on the central dial. As it did, the previously dull red character began to glow brightly. "So that's how we get further" Zone said to himself.

Meanwhile, the remaining nine Blades were still doing their best to rend Reiko and Arson into pieces. The hybrid found himself with five enemies, and was beginning to become overwhelmed. Catching the clawed attacks of three of the monsters with both his swords, he used all of his strength to throw them off. Seeing a fourth one rushing at him, he jumped up and kicked off of its armoured head, trying to get into some space. However a fifth one tackled him midair, Arson sent tumbling even though he managed to throw his attacker off. Spinning out of control, he saw the blur of his first three attackers jumping after him to finish him off.

"Arson!" Reiko called. Having seen his friend's plight, the vampire had taken drastic measures. Allowing one Blade to dig its claws into his chest, the vampire had brought his staff round with such brutal force that the blow had broken the creature's neck, its head lolling sickeningly. Wounded but alive (or undead), the vampire had been able to get away from his reduced crowd of foes, and into the path of the troubled Arson.

Seeing the vampire beneath him, Arson did what little he could to bring his spinning body under control. Timing the swing precisely, Reiko brought his staff round in a wide swing, the long pole connecting with the sole's of Arson's feet. The weapon and hybrid were frozen in equipoise of inertia for a moment. Then Arson found his balance and kicked off of it, launching right back at the Blades that were almost upon him.

Phoenix and Dragon blazed with light as they burned through the air, and plunged right through the torsos of two of the outstretched lizards, impaling them and reversing their trajectory as Arson tore up into them. Using the blades for leverage, Arson raised his legs and wrapped them around the head of the last lizard, jerking it out of its attack. "Do you like barbeques?" Arson asked the writhing demons, who gave him a half-crazed, half-confused look. A moment later they were immolated as Arson channelled dual infernos through his swords. With nothing left to hold them, he plunged both into the head of the remaining enemy.

Using the body of the slain Blade to cushion his landing, Arson rolled to his feet as he landed. Reiko was at his side a moment later and Zone as well, the hybrid having landed near him. As the three stood ready side by side, the Blades swiftly regrouped, only half of the demons still alive. Sensing their reduced chances, the lizards charged in a tight formation, trying to overwhelm their targets and perhaps isolate one from the rest.

Seeing the threat of the suicide rush, Arson, running high on the adrenaline of battle, calculated rapidly. "Hey Zone, batter up?" he said to the hamster, who looked at him curiously for a moment, then understood the hybrid's meaning. Jumping towards Arson, he held his lightsabre under him as Arson lifted Phoenix up. The two edges collided, and lifted Zone to head-height, where Arson brought Dragon round and smacked it into the rodent's lightsabre, Zone bracing against the blow, which sent him flying right towards the Blades.

Zone was somewhat disorientated by the impacts, but he'd endure some hardship to achieve their goals, and angling himself, the rodent flew straight into the throat of one of the charging Blades. His weapon sunk in to the hilt, piercing its neck, and as the creature stumbled and twitched, he dragged it up and split the creature's throat, swinging round onto its shoulder then back to avoid the flow of rancid blood gushing out.

The other four creatures continued on regardless, but their chances were far too depleted by now. Arson smashed right through their middle, engaging two while Reiko took the others. The hybrid savagely smacked the two demons around, eventually dicing one lizard into steaming chunks, the victim falling apart where it stood where it stood. The other creature backed away cautiously, only to be lifted off the ground as Reiko drove his staff into its spine from behind, breaking it, having beaten his own to adversaries to death.

The Blade was lifted up into the air, body bent over the pole. It was then annihilated in a crossfire, caught between a stream of Arson's fire and Zone's laser, which he had partially recharged on the demons' blood.

As the destructive energies cleared, nothing remained of the crucified creature, save for the glowing wisp the others had released discretely on their deaths. The orb of energy slowly drifted down onto the final unlighted rune, causing it to glow. A moment later, all ten symbols blazed, and in a flash of light a huge pillar of light burst forth from them. The column hit the ceiling, then stabilised into an incandescent portal.

"Ooh… Pretty" Arson remarked in admiration, speaking between pants, still recovering from the battle.

"See, now why couldn't they have one of these instead of an endless staircase?" Zone pointed out cheekily.

Ignoring the rodent's playful criticism, seeing he was smiling in enjoyment of a battle well fought, Reiko walked up to the pillar-like portal. "This is new, so perhaps we're almost at the end of this ordeal" he said hopefully. They took a minute to recover their breath; Reiko's wound healing partially, and then entered…

----

"Wow, the chapter isn't over yet?" Arson said as the blinding light cleared, leaving them in a new location.

"_Sweet_! If it's not finished by now, that _must_ mean this is a climatic battle" Zone replied with an eager grin.

Despite their unorthodox observations and reasoning, Reiko had to concede there was some validity to their claims. The while glow of the portal had blinded them temporarily, but now their eyes were adjusting to the new location. Suddenly the vampire's sharp vision detected something, "I think you're right, Zone" he said.

It took the other two a little longer to see what he saw, and then it was suddenly incredibly hard to ignore.

"A dragon, hmmm, cliché yet classical" Zone remarked thoughtfully, trying to decide what he thought of it.

The room they were in was again circular in shape, although unlike the last there were ten pillars around the perimeter halfway between the centre and wall. They were spaced like numbers on a clock, with two gaps at the 6 and 12 o'clock points. In one of these spaces stood the trio, and in the other stood the dragon.

The creature was gargantuan, at least 50 feet horned head to pointed tail. It's body was lean yet muscular, its clawed limbs and torso streamlined to be aerodynamic, but still solidly built, the whole of it covered in crimson scales that seemed to shine as it spat a huge gout of flame from it's mouth. Spreading the gigantic wings that were folded on its back, it stretched them and gave a single, mighty beat, sending a powerful gust through the room as it roared deafeningly.

The trio had to brace against the blast of wind, Zone only managing to resist thanks to being low to the ground. "Alright, I'm impressed already!" he shouted, spending several moments brushing his windswept fur back into place once the gust had passed.

"Man, that thing is huge!" Arson stated, his own messy hair none the worse for the wind. Suddenly a curious thought struck him, "I wonder what it eats".

Giving another deafening roar, the dragon spat a gout of flame that rolled across the ceiling, and came stomping towards them. "You just had to ask" Reiko said to the hybrid with a roll of the eyes.

"That's not what I meant…" Arson muttered in a hurt voice, but the time for banter was at an end, as the dragon hurtled across the room with maddening inertia, drawing a breath to incinerate them in an instant.

"Well I'm not on the menu" Zone said to the other two, glancing at them before splitting to the side to take cover behind a pillar. He was headstrong but there was a difference between taking risks and being suicidal.

Agreeing wholeheartedly with the rodent's sentiments, the other two made to move as well. Reiko rushed to the other side, using his excellent speed to close in on the nearest pillar, while Arson rushed forwards.

An instant later the dragon spat a solid column of fire straight forwards, hammering through the air like a solid thing, a runaway train of heat. Reiko just made it into cover, while Zone, not as quick as the vampire despite his head start, saw he wasn't going to make it. Paws moving in a blur, he drew his laser, deactivated the recoil suppressor, and fired a controlled burst behind him, sending him flying forwards and into cover.

Arson meanwhile charged straight towards the inferno, leaping upwards at the last second, sailing over the blaze. The hybrid was unaffected by rising heat that would make most faint, and landed on the dragon's head. Struggling to keep his balance, he lashed out with Dragon and Phoenix. The blades tarnished the scales, but were turned aside without penetrating the armoured hide. Thrashing in pain and fury, the dragon threw its head back, launching Arson down its long neck onto its back, where the teenager kept attacking it, until he was eventually smacked off by the lashing tail, sending him flying straight into one of the pillars.

In this time Reiko and Zone had split up, moving around to make attacks of their own. With its attention distracted by Arson, Reiko was able to leap up and slam his staff hard into the underside of its neck. The dragon growled slightly in pain and a great deal more in fury, turning and swatting at the vampire with his claws. Reiko managed to avoid one swipe and used the other lashing claw to jump higher, bringing down his staff in a hammering blow right on the dragon's snout, forcing it to bow slightly under the blow. Reiko didn't have any time to celebrate though, as the behemoth lunged forwards and head-butted him in midair.

Reiko was sent flying back now, tumbling in a dazed heap from the very one-sided collision of skulls. The dragon drew a breath to immolate the vampire, but was interrupted as a blast of crimson light spat out and struck the side of its mouth, jerking its head to one side, narrowly diverting the gout of fire. Zone lowered his laser, having to carefully ration his energy reserves, and combined it with his lightsabre to hold them both in his paws. The creature's tail lashed out at him, and he ducked the sweep and slashed a graze across its underside, then swiftly ran behind a pillar as the return blow shattered the stone ground just behind him.

By now Reiko had regained his senses, and he took cover, shouting "Arson, Zone, are you two alright?".

"Just dizzy, and sore" Arson called back, having moved behind another pillar after being thrown into it.

"I'm alive, but I don't think we're going to defeat this thing uncoordinated!" Zone called from his position.

Reiko was about to answer, when suddenly a clawed hand lashed round his pillar, the vampire barely backing out of its reach in time. The head followed shortly after and he was forced to dive out into the open as a wave of fire washed out nearly a third of the circumference of the room. Seeing Reiko in trouble, Arson rushed out, leaping at the creature's side and stabbing at its wings. He was swiftly thrown off, but by then Zone had mounted the tail and was stabbing it repeatedly, his energy blade making multiple tiny but definite penetrations before he was finally thrown off. The hamster went flying towards the hard stonewall, going fast enough to survive only as a furry smear, but before he hit it Reiko intercepted and caught him.

"I was about to say, I think you're right" the vampire said, landing nimbly with the rodent safe in his hands.

"That was a good start to cooperation, you saved my fur" Zone said, shaking off the dizziness and smiling up at Reiko from his palms thankfully. The vampire nodded back and set the hamster down on the floor.

Arson crashed into the pillar besides them a moment later, cracks spreading over the stone behind him, but as he slid down to the ground his legs caught him, and with a determined grunt he stood upright. "So guys, we gonna do this _together_?" he asked the other two, his normally playful face set hard with determination.

"Yeah" Reiko and Zone replied in perfect sync, glancing at each other briefly as the dragon turned to them. Spinning their weapons readily, Arson stood by the others, Zone gave a taunt, and Reiko led the charge…

The battle wore on long and hard, the trio fighting as a combined force, and proving to be an even match for the dragon. They managed to slowly deal damage, while constantly saved each other from destruction.

The dragon smacked Arson back, stunning him, and made to swallow him hole, only for Reiko to tackle him out of the way of the powerful jaws. It launched a huge gout of fire at Zone, but Arson jumped in the way and used Phoenix and Dragon to block the blast, the fire-attuned hybrid enduring the fire. A massive claw came round to crush Reiko, grinding him into dust against a pillar he'd been smacked into, and Zone to deflected the limb from its course with a precise laser blast. And so they continued to dance with death…

"Hey, how're you holding up?" Reiko asked, his breath ragged from exertion, a panting Arson besides him.

"Still in the fight, yourself?" the hybrid replied, getting a silent nod from Reiko to indicate he was alright.

"I'm still, alive too, if anyone, cares to know" Zone cracked, moving out from behind a scorched pillar, his wit still intact, although his laboured breathing stuttered his delivery. He held his lightsabre in paw wearily, the vampire wielding his staff and hybrid his twin swords with similar fatigue; the battle was taking its toll.

Facing off against them stood a fierce but drained opponent. The dragon was still winged, still breathing fire and still as good as armoured. However it was also tarnished with a wide assortment of small gashes, scorch marks and broken scales. The trio's attacks weren't very effective singularly, but over the course of the battle the continuous barrage of blistering sword blows, bludgeoning staff impacts and scathing laser strikes were taking their toll. The dragon was tough, but like most bosses could be worn down over time.

"We need to finish this now" Reiko said, aware of both their own exhaustion and a bigger clock ticking.

"Yeah, it's lights out time" added Arson, who acted like a certain relative of his when fighting this hard.

"Hey, that's my line" Zone chuckled, using the laughter to loosen himself up and stay limber for the fight.

On a silent cue, the three rushed forwards as one. The dragon charged to meet them, and they split, offering it multiple targets. Lashing out at the nearest one, it attempted to crush Reiko in its claws, only for a laser blast to lance out and intercept it. Turning its head on the puny rodent, the dragon roared in fury and unleashed a mighty torrent of flames. As the inferno bore down on Zone, Arson rushed to him and lifted him high into the air over the fires with one sword, using the other to block the flames as best he could. Moving behind Arson, sweating from the intense heat of the barely diverted fire, Reiko offered the hybrid his staff, which Arson stepped onto, and with a grunt of effort he launched him upwards through the blaze.

Rising through the roaring inferno, Arson thanked that he always wore fireproof clothing, the hybrid's own resistance to heat allowing him to survive, although the constant exposure was causing even him ever-increasing pain. Shooting up to the beast's maw, he lodged Phoenix and Dragon between its jaws, holding them apart. The dragon was infuriated to find it couldn't close its mouth, but continued to bathe Arson in constant fire anyway. Unbeknownst to it, however, Zone was directly over its head, having been hurled their by Arson. As the rodent descended he took aim and fired a powerful laser blast, which hammered directly into the dragon's head between its horns. The force of the blow forced the beast's head down, and allowed Reiko to jump up and onto its neck, where he wrapped his staff under the throat, and pulled hard.

The dragon suddenly found itself unable to breathe fire as the vampire choked its airways, the creature writhing and clawing furiously. As it flailed around, Arson leaned back, and Zone dropped neatly onto his shoulder, catching the neck of his clothing. Scurrying down the hybrid's arm, he ventured out between the two swords Arson was holding apart with all his strength, where it was now safe for the rodent thanks to Reiko choking off the fire. Raising his laser weapon, the rodent said "Here's food for thought", and fired.

The powerful bolt of energy shot into the roof of the creature's mouth, puncturing the comparatively softer skin there. The dragon began to thrash madly as Zone emptied his energy reserves. Crimson light started to glow from behind the creature's eyes and it lost all coherent control, flailing insanely and at random rather than trying to attack them. Sensing the opportunity, Reiko yanked back on his staff as hard as he could, muscles straining, and a sickening crunching sound was heard as the dragon's head snapped back unnaturally. As Zone safely retreated into one of his coat pockets, Arson launched himself right down the dragon's throat, throwing himself into its maw and beyond. Thrusting his swords out to either side, he leapt forwards and spun, the blades slashing through the vulnerable insides of the throat, and completing the circle, severed the dragon's head from the inside out. As the decapitated head dropped away, Arson leapt up and caught Reiko's offered hand, and the three of them retreated down the dragon's long neck and body.

Behind them, the severed head tumbled through the air, neck broken and cut, and finally the energy Zone had fed directly into its brain overloaded and with an ear-shattering explosion it exploded in a nova of fire.

As the trio ran down the tail of the body, it too went up in flames, and they leapt clear just before the dragon's remains cremated themselves, burning up in an intense pyre of contracting fire, light and heat.

When the fireworks finally ended, all that was left was a floating sapphire stone, rested upon a halo of fire that acted as a pedestal. The three unsteadily got to their feet, or paws respectively, and walked over to it.

"Is this what we came for?" Arson asked curiously, peering at the stone and seeing his reflection look back.

"One way to find out" said Reiko, and reaching out, he touched it, and the world went white for them all…


	21. The Benefit Of Hindsight

_**Author's Notes:** First off a big thanks to Sin Oan for back-reviewing, a rare show of generosity that doesn't go unappreciated, I'm grateful :D. In response to your feedback, I hope this chapter will cover some if not all of the points you raised, but just in case I'll explain them myself. Firstly, regarding the method of defeating Mary Sue, I realise it is a little cliché, and Zone pointed out as much. Although this story uses a lot of parody, it is intended to have an underlying plot and some meaningful themes and concepts, and the idea is that it's a metaphor, basically the only way to overcome the kind of quality-leeching threat Mary Sue represents is for characters to define themselves through each other, as that interaction is key in their development. As for the comment about them seeming to get on too well, that was slightly down to me being tired, but the idea is that they've grasped the two extremes, and now need to bring them together to really have a chance against Mary Sue, as I hope is conveyed clearly here. Lastly, about the long-ass chapter and fights, sorry it dragged on :o, I just try to convey how the trio are not like Dante, who can hack through 10 Blades without breaking a sweat, and that such battles are trying encounters for them. None of this is a rebuke mind, just returning the favour of explaining things as you did for me, which I'm grateful for :). That said, thanks to everyone else who reviewed too, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter, which is kinda serious but I tried to mix in some humour.  
_----  
The first indication of an outside world Arson, Reiko and Zone perceived after the white light consumed them, was Matier's voice. "About time, I was starting to think I'd miss Lost waiting for you three" it said.

As the incandescence faded, they were able to make out each other's forms, and then their surroundings. Already a little thrown off by hearing the elderly woman's voice, not to mention what it'd said, they were inclined to further bemusement when they found they were standing in what looked like a shop storeroom. They were all physically and mentally exhausted though, and unanimously decided to ignore it and wait for someone to provide an explanation, although that was a risky bet in the vaguely established DMC2 world.

A moment later, Matier stepped forwards out of the receding light, and being as sharp as she was old, explained their appearance in the back of her shop upon seeing their expressions. After all, she could respect a to the point attitude, "There's a portal in the dungeon you came from that returns you to the entrance, to save tedious backtracking. This nexus here redirects signals back here for the same reason".

"That's… Pretty useful" Reiko conceded, rubbing his chin, and then his eyes while trying to stifle a yawn.

Being closest to the ground, Zone had noticed shortly after being able to see that they were standing in some half-brother or second cousin of a pentagram. Walking to the edge, he experimentally sniffed the perimeter, and sneezed, blowing a plume of white dust into his face. "Is this _baking powder_?" he accused.

"The materials are inconsequential, the meaning is what matters" Matier scolded him. She bent down and shoed the troublesome rodent out of the symbol, meticulously repairing the smudged line while Zone wiped the dust off and muttered unkind words about the old woman. "Don't just stand there, you're holding up traffic" she reprimanded Arson and Reiko, who gave each other a puzzled look, shrugged, and stepped out.

Barely a moment after they had joined Zone on the outside, Matier stood back, and a familiar white light radiated from the something-a-gram. When it faded, in its place stood a teenage boy with very big, brown hair, bright mismatched clothes a ridiculously large key in one hand. He was flanked by a short duck-like creature in a blue sailor's outfit, and a tall lanky anthropomorphic dog with long ears, dressed in typical working class attire on the other side, who spoke. "D'ya think this is the place Sora, ug-huh?" he asked the teenager, punctuating the question with a laugh reminiscent of someone chugging a pint of beer in one go.

Before Sora could reply, the duck opened his beak, "If hafsh to bfe Goohpy, fphare elfse fould if bphe?".

"Was that and attempt at language, or weather?" asked Zone, who had retreated from the moderate shower of spittle that had emanated from the duck's beak. Hearing him, the new arrivals noticed the other group for the first time. There was an extremely prolonged and extremely awkward silence as the vampire, the hybrid and the hamster, and the cartoon duck, the anthropomorphic dog, and the keybearer examined each other…

Eventually, Sora focused for long enough to do something remotely resembling leadership. "Hey guys, we don't have time for this, we have to find the Heartless!" he declared, receiving approval from his comrades.

"The Heartless?" Reiko said upon hearing this, staring at the floor thoughtfully. "Aren't those the creatures that go around from story to story sealing up or corrupting the souls of their characters, feeding on them and plunging the world into darkness?" he asked. The other three nodded, and a thoughtful pause ensued…

"What in the world are they doing _here_ then?" Zone broke the silence to ask, grinning brazenly right up until Matier smacked him one on the head with that staff of hers. She quickly ushered the other group out through the door before anything complicated took place, gesturing for Reiko, Arson and Zone to follow.

The trio walked out to find themselves back in the main room of Matier's shop come office, the elderly sage pleasantly but frantically waving Sora's group out the front door. As she closed it behind them, Reiko noticed the sun was setting outside, which meant they'd been in that dungeon the best part of all day long.

Matier turned back to her remaining guests. "You acquired the Demon Stone, I presume?" she asked expectantly, looking from Reiko to Arson, and then Zone when he made an annoyed noise at being ignored.

"Oh, right" Reiko said, fishing into his pockets for the blue stone they'd picked up after beating the dragon. He'd stored it on reflex to free his hands in case of attack, but couldn't remember which one he'd put it in.

Matier tapped her staff impatiently, snatching it from the vampire when he finally produced it. "Aah, well done" she granted them a brief complement, "I'm glad you were able to acquire it, it can't have been easy".

"_Major understatement_" Zone replied, the rodent having climbed up onto a table. He was panting tiredly and fighting down a yawn every other moment, but managed he to ask "So, now we can beat Mary Sue?".

Matier glanced at him, and then walked over to her computer and picked up two bunches of paper. "You've gotten stronger together, yes, you could not have acquired the Demon Stone otherwise…" she said, turning round and holding up the artifact in one hand, and the documents in the other. "However, that dungeon may have been tough for you, but Mary Sue is in an entirely different league, she is still beyond your abilities".

The elderly sage was treated to a triple dosage of aghast, disbelieving stares as she said this. Reiko dropped into a nearly chair despondently, Arson hung his head shamefully, and Zone retorted, "But, but you said-".

Matier cut him off, "I said if you could conquer the dungeon you would have what it takes to _fight_ Mary Sue, not _defeat_ her!" she snapped sharply. "As you are you stand a slight chance against her, and given enough opportunities might manage to eventually overcome her. But when the time comes you will have only _one_ chance, and for that to be a significant chance, you still have a way to go" she informed them.

"But, we tried so hard…" muttered Arson, who was leaning on a statue. The hybrid's breathing was ragged, and he was visibly slumping against the marble hydra, hence his unusual quietness since they had returned.

Matier turned her eyes on him, and even though she was far too experienced to be phased by mere cuteness, she detected the sincerity in his words. "Yes, you did" she allowed, "I admit you've improved considerably as a team, as recently as mere days ago you probably would not have managed to overcome that dungeon".

Reiko shook his head to clear his vision, and shoving aside his tiredness, asked "What else must we do?".

Matier raised the papers she'd been holding all along in response, "I've printed off the last two chapters of the story. You need to review them and understand what you did right and what you need to improve on".

Reiko just stared at the papers for a long while, and then looked past Matier to her computer, where the previous chapter was visible in a web browser window. The vampire clawed at his face and muttered unintelligible things, while Zone shook his head, "The fourth wall must cry itself to sleep at night" he said.

Matier cast him a withering look, but the rodent shrugged it off, and she turned back to Reiko, "You can either learn from your mistakes or repeat them, and the former requires you concentrate on studying these".

Reiko looked at the 13 pages chronicling their quest through the dungeon, but his eyes were drawn past them to behind Matier. "If they require our full concentration, perhaps we should wait until tomorrow?" he proposed tactfully. Matier looked at him, and then turned to see what the vampire was being distracted by.

Arson was lying on the marble hydra, seated snugly against the curve of its back with his legs to either side of the dip before the tail arched back up. The hybrid was sound asleep, and using a magic carpet as a cover.

Zone was looking at this also, and gave a wry grin, which soon developed into a poorly suppressed yawn. Checking his laser weapon, he found that its reserves were empty; completely depleted. The rodent could relate to that, and he picked himself up and walked across the table to a spare cushion used to hold crystal balls. "Time out…" he muttered, climbing up and slumping onto it, the rodent using it as a makeshift bed.

Matier glared between the dosing off hamster and already asleep hybrid with fierce disapproval, and then turned her gaze on Reiko. The vampire winced back from her, and shrugged apologetically. "Perhaps we should acknowledge our limits and allow ourselves a chance to recover?" he offered by way of explanation.

Matier looked at him critically, but took heed of his words. In truth, the three of them were totally drained, for despite the frequent boring but useful breaks early on, the numerous battles, puzzles, and raw travelling had taken a severe toll on them. Only resolve, determination, adrenaline and similar things had kept them going to the end, even these reserves being tested sorely. They _had_ kept going, knowing they couldn't give up, that in the middle of it all you had to keep pushing forwards, or you were done for. But once they had finished, they'd returned with barely anything left in them, the normally hyper Arson laconic with fatigue, Zone running on his last scraps of adrenaline, and Reiko using his last shreds of energy just to think clearly.

"Alright, _fine_" Matier conceded testily, "I expect your full attention tomorrow, however". Turning to begin locking up the shop, she scoffed irritably and threw the bound papers to the side. _Original characters_ she thought, either hopelessly crude or modestly gifted almost all of them. Still, she wasn't totally apathetic to the genuine effort they had made to overcome a challenge she knew would test their limits. She had thrown the papers so that they landed half-covering Zone, giving the rodent some protection from the cold night…

----

The next morning, and a better-rested trio had gathered round a table that had not so much been cleared as exorcised. Spread across the surface was about a dozen pages, which they were looking over, trying to learn from their mistakes. Also adorning the desktop was a reminder that though she was sharp as a sickle and spry with a walking staff, Matier was still and old woman, as she was serving them milk and cookies.

"Spho…" said Zone, swallowing and trying again, "So, what exactly were we doing wrong? I mean we're working together, right?" he asked, indicating a page he was sitting in front of. The rodent had surprised everyone, even Matier, though she didn't let it show, by already consuming one cookie as big as he was.

Reiko rubbed his chin thoughtfully, in the hopes that some wondering inspiration wanting to settle down and start a family might see his contemplative expression and decide to move in. He got a few viewers, but nothing stayed for the sale, and he sighed. "I don't know" he admitted; they'd been at this for quite a while.

Arson looked up from playing lifeguard in his milk with the chocolate chips from his cookie long enough to contribute. "Maybe, we worked together in the wrong way?" he suggested, earning reproachful looks from the other two for the vague, unhelpful comment.

"Don't look at him like that" Matier snapped as she re-entered the room, "Arson's gotten closer than any of you in that statement". She refilled their glasses, grudgingly gave Zone a second cookie, and then seeing their blank expressions, realised they'd need their heads filling in too. "In the dungeon you worked together yes, and were stronger. But you sacrificed your individual selves to a degree in order to achieve that unity".

There was a silence, and as was tradition, Zone was the one to break it. "Like Hell I did!" he opined loudly.

Matier's staff twitched, but she decided instead on a verbal beating, rounding on the rodent. "Oh you didn't did you? How about here?" she jabbed her finger at the page in front of him without even looking, "Right here, when Reiko helped you fight the skeletons, you suppressed your own persona to cooperate with him".

Zone peered forwards, rereading the text, and scoffed, looking away disdainfully. Reiko leaned over to read the text for himself and realised Zone _had_ been unusually subdued. "Is this true?" he inquired of the rodent.

Zone glared at him and spat his response. "Oh yeah, you criticise me when I speak my mind, and now when I make a concerted effort to cooperate, you're not happy either?" he threw up his front paws in aggravation.

Reiko's reply was terse with forced control. "We were informed prior to entering the dungeon not to hold ourselves back, did you forget?" he asked, a hint of accusation in his voice.

"Don't patronise me corpse" the rodent spat. "If you stop worrying about the _poor useless furball_ for a moment" he added sarcastically, "I think you'll realise Arson's been holding back since the beginning".

Arson winced under the statement directed at him, lowering his head as Reiko turned to look at him. "I um, they're just … Secrets" he defended shyly, tapping his fingers together in a meek fashion as Reiko groaned.

While this was going on, Matier had slipped into another room to give them space. Holding things back would only stop them learning how to harness their combined potential, and it was best they came to terms with each other themselves. After all, when the time came, they would only have each other to rely on.

Back with the trio, a minor argument was taking place. "Just because I'm not afraid to be enthusiastic doesn't mean I don't take this seriously, excuse me for wanting to feel _alive_" Zone retorted to Reiko's claim that he was reckless. The vampire didn't miss the hamster's intended inflection in the word "alive".

"Guys, come on, why are we fighting?" Arson said, trying to calm things down, meeting with little success.

"We're fighting because Count Dorkula thinks you're not serious about anything if you don't cry a river of woe every night and dress like a Matrix reject. Sometimes I wonder why I bothered coming" Zone replied.

Reiko hit the table in frustration, losing his patience with the rodent's unhelpful, inane insults. "Well so do I" he told the rodent, "I don't know why you came, you weren't asked to and I can't see why you'd care".

Zone visibly stiffened at this, his reply coming in a low growl, "No, I don't expect you would understand".

When it became obvious the hamster had nothing more to say, Arson reached out to stroke him friendlily, but Zone shifted away from his hand; he wasn't a toy to be played with on the whims of others. The hybrid whimpered sadly, glancing at Reiko, who gave him a neutral look, since he had as good as confessed to holding back himself. "I'm sorry, you guys" Arson muttered apologetically, and a heavy silence followed.

Eventually, surprisingly enough Zone was the one to break it, "I'll tell you, then" he said, his voice still tense, but calmer than it had been before. He turned to look at Reiko and visibly pushed down his temper.

"Tell me what?" the vampire asked politely, trying to be polite and not hold a grudge against the hamster.

"I'll tell you why I came along" Zone said, taking a couple of breaths before continuing. He hated making himself vulnerable like this, but he pressed on, "I came for two reasons. One I admit, was because of the challenge, I wanted to prove myself and enjoy the action" he stopped, sensing the disapproval from Reiko, even though he concealed it. "The other reason…" he continued, hesitating about the phrasing, and in the end deciding to just say it, "I like you both, I value you as friends, even respect you, and, I wanted to help".

Reiko sat in silence for a moment as he took this in. Zone shut his own mouth and stared determinedly at the table in front of him, not moving or speaking, bracing himself mentally for the kind of backlash sharing something so open as that exposed one to. The vampire knew they were friends, but not in the way where they could openly say such things without being teased or mocked, and the bold admittance surprised him.

"Thanks, Zone" Arson said suddenly, smiling at the hamster, a simple sign of acceptance. He slowly reached out, and this time Zone didn't move, and slowly smiled as Arson ruffled the fur between his ears.

With that, the tension between them eased considerably, and though Reiko didn't pet Zone, he did give him a small smile, which the rodent returned. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you came" Reiko admitted quietly.

Before another word could pass between them, Matier came back into the room, coughing purposefully as she did. In one hand she held the Demon Stone, and in the other what looked like tickets. "I've booked you seats online on a flight back to the DMC3 fandom" she explained, confirming that they were indeed tickets.

They gave a chorus of nods, and Zone looked from the tickets to the stone, "What does that do anyway?".

Matier looked at the stone nonchalantly. "Oh this? Various things, generally speaking it's a transfinite conduit for demonic energy" she explained, talking as if she was describing the function of an egg whisk.

"Really? Can I see?" Zone asked with much more enthusiasm, and with a shrug Matier set it down on the table besides him. The rodent ran a paw over it, staring into its faintly swirling depths, and then pulled out his laser gun. Turning it around, he connected the intake port to the Demon Stone, and his smile grew wider and wider as he watched the storage gauge fill. "Full power!!" he shouted excitedly after several seconds.

As the elated tyrant spun his weapon round and hugged it fondly, Reiko picked up the gem and peered into its depths. "Impressive" he said, the non-linear capacity of the stone seemingly not even slightly depleted.

Matier took it swiftly but politely from his grasp, "It has its uses, but these are much more relevant to your aims" she said, handing him the tickets, Zone noting with a smile that she'd gotten three. "Listen carefully now" the sage said, pausing for their attention, "I sent you to retrieve the stone so that you would learn to work together, harnessing a greater power than you could individually. You succeeded, but that is not the end of it. You know how to fight as yourselves, and how to fight together, but only by combining the two to wield the strength of both can you succeed. In that equilibrium alone lies the power to defeat Mary Sue, and to that end there is nothing more I can tell you, you must understand the rest for yourselves together".

Matier allowed a long pause for this to sink in; it was vital they took it to heart. When she was sure they'd absorbed it, she continued, "Now, that's how you defeat Mary Sue, but reaching her is another matter…".

----

A little while later, and the three arrived at the airport to catch their flight. They entered to find the place unusually quiet, the few people darting about and skeleton staff (not literally, mind) on duty almost eerie compared to the mad bustle it had been when they'd landed here. "This is kinda creepy" Arson muttered.

"It must be because of Mary Sue, even out here, the entire DMC fanverse is being strangled" Reiko mused.

"No point in standing around then, right?" Zone pointed out, him Arson and Reiko nodding in agreement.

Searching around for a bit, they were able to find someone to direct them to their terminal. They boarded their flight and found it too was sparsely populated. Settling into their seats, Reiko putting a comfy pillow on Zone's as a sort of amends for earlier, they found it oddly disquieting. It was like being stuck in a funeral service, and even Arson was fairly hushed up as the plane took off, thankfully without incident.

Back in her shop, Matier looked up with that sage wisdom incomprehensible to mere mortals as a white trail streaked across the sky, knowing they were inside. She grimaced momentarily, pondering their chances. She had taught them what they needed, but it was up to them to understand it, there were some things that had to be discovered for oneself. It was all up to them now; whether or not they could achieve the crucial balance of self and unity would determine the fate of the fandom. It was a great burden, for they were not heroes like Dante, Vergil or even Lady. But they had a chance, of this Matier was certain, and she spared a thought for the shadows they would face. Indeed, some things had to be discovered for oneself…


	22. Air Hostilities

_**Author's Notes:** Apologies for the lateness of this chapter, I got caught up in this and that, and wouldn't have been able to do it without rushing, which is usually bad for the quality of the writing. It's here now though, and I hope it was worth the wait :D. A little in-joke for those who own DMC3, go to level 8, and look in the background at the beginning, you'll know what I mean ;)..._  
----  
Deep in the bowels of the demon tower, a ritual most sinister and twisted was being carried out in darkness.

"That's it boys, you like to fight don't you? Like to cause each other pain, like it rough!" a female voice bellowed with sadistically enthralled command from the shadows. Reluctantly, bodies and spirits bent to this unwilling task, her captives complied, grunting in pain as they thrust at one another with their weapons.

Having led the imagination to the precipice of madness, we look no further, lest the rating of this story fall into the abyss. Harbouring this glimpse at the heart of damnation, we turn to those bent on thwarting it…

----

High above the buried tomb of stone and earth where desecrating acts torment imprisoned souls, a plane sours through skies tainted dark, even so far away. Within it rests perhaps the last hope for the world itself.

"Ahah, I've got it!" one of the three saviours suddenly declares, his two companions looking up at him in surprise. With elated enthusiasm the inspired one collects several items and lays them according to his plan.

"… And, Y, there, jellybean!" Zone declares with satisfaction, rubbing his paws together gleefully. Before him lay a Scrabble board, to which he had added the letters J, E, L, another L, and a Y, the rodent having to carry the pieces in his paws and set them down in place one at a time. His contribution prefixed the word BEAN Arson had laid down earlier, and the J had managed to work its way onto one of the coveted triple word score spaces. "Haha, beat that" Zone said confidently as Reiko calculated and wrote down his score.

"That's, 192 points" Reiko said after figuring it out, looking at the celebrating Zone, then turning to Arson. "I think he's beating us" the vampire stated, the rodent's score having just about doubled in a single move.

"No fair, he stole my bean" the hybrid complained, glaring at his pieces like they were a four letter word, reproachful of their betrayal. The way they played Scrabble all bonuses were cumulative, so since bean had covered the triple word score along one side, and jelly got the corner, Zone had scored a 9 times multiplier.

"It's your go now, Arson" Reiko reminded, allowing the hamster his celebrations, since he respected the highly effective tactical move he'd pulled off. The vampire _had_ been leading the game with several good words such as morose, dichotomy (prefixing a "my" already in play), and bubblegum (suffixing "bubble").

"My turn my turn!" Arson cheered, misery instantly forgotten as he set down his sandwich and scrutinised the board and his letters with shrewd analysis. As he did this, Reiko gazed out of the window in reflection.

They were back in the DMC3 fandom by now, the vampire was fairly certain, and he mused over how much had changed, silently praying they weren't too late. The flight had been unsettlingly quiet to begin with, with few other passengers onboard, and there had been occasional discussion of what lay ahead, but there was little to talk about. The premise was simple; it was the execution that would prove challenging.

Eventually, Zone had grown annoyed at the atmosphere and had hot-headedly promoted them to business class. Reiko had complained, but the rodent wouldn't bow to reason and they had ended up wandering into the midsection of the plane. It turned out to be even emptier than the back, and no one had minded them taking one of the tables, and they had. They came to the half-spoken conclusion that there was no point in lingering on the imminent, and decided it was best to stay relaxed and enjoy themselves while they could. Thus they had ended up playing one of their habitual pastimes, Scrabble, which the plane conveniently had.

Reiko was broken out of his reverie by the sound of Arson and Zone arguing. "Sheeps is not a word, sheep is the plural of sheep!" the rodent yelled, glaring at the hybrid, who was leaning over to return the gesture.

"Aha, that's where you're wrong! I did biology in school and sheep are not asexual, you need a mommy and daddy sheep to make baby sheep!" Arson rebuked, grinning smugly as if he'd just played a trump card.

Reiko rolled his eyes and turned away from the window to break them up, before the inevitable fight began. Despite the latter's physical puniness, Arson and Zone never really hurt each other badly, but the collateral could be quite severe. Just as he was about to speak however, the plane shuddered, and the PA came to life.

"Sorry about that disturbance ladies and gentlemen, just some minor turbulence, nothing to-oh shit!" the pilot's voice abruptly cut off. At the same time as the announcement ended, a shadow passed over the trio.

"Huh?" Reiko muttered, perplexed, and he turned to look out the window from which the light had ceased to come. But whatever had blocked out the sun was gone, nothing visible but it, the sky and the right wing.

"This is creepy" Arson whimpered, reaching for his sandwich lying on the table, for moral support. It was a sandwich that he was destined never to finish.

With an ear-splitting screech the entire craft shook and jarred to the side, Reiko and Arson gripping their seats and Zone being flung into the ruined Scrabble game. Rubbing his head he sat up, and saw some letters in front of him that had been knocked to loosely form the word "CRAP", ironically echoing his thoughts.

"No, my BLT!" Arson cried in despair, reaching out for his _Bacon, Like, Totally_ sandwich, which had slid towards the window. His fingertips brushed against it, but then with the scream of tortured metal, the hull around it and them buckled and began to rip away, Reiko grabbing him and Zone, and diving into the aisle.

Turning around, they were treated to a rare spectacle as a chunk of the plane was ripped off, and watched as it disappeared down the giant gullet of what looked like a monstrous whale, flying along beside the aircraft.

"Leviathan…" Reiko whispered awed in horror, recognising the demonic weapon buried with the Temen-Ni-Gru. He and Zone were clutching onto the seats in the middle of the aisle, but slowly Arson stood up.

A fiery rage smouldered in the eyes of the hybrid, and a primal growl resonated up from his chest into his throat. There was a fierce burning in his heart, a burning that screamed in fury, a burning that cried out for revenge, for retribution. "That, was, my… **_SANDWICH_**!" the hybrid shouted as he was surrounded by a blazing inferno. With a deafening roar, a solid pillar of fire erupted forth from him, wider than he was tall, and burst through the open wound in the side of the plane, straight into the still open maw of the Leviathan.

In the vast, lumbering mind of the gargantuan beast, a ponderous thought registered, a concept the brain had not encountered before. _Spicy_, it thought to itself, naming the sensation, and it gave a satisfied belch.

Panting from the amount of power he'd just unleashed, the hybrid gagged as a putrid stench washed back in through the hole, the titanic burp so potent it physically repelled the plane away on the air currents. Reiko choked and hastily rose to his feet, ripping away two of the dangling breathing apparatus that had been dropped over the seats in case of emergency. Giving one to Arson, he put it over his mouth as a primitive gas mask, the hybrid doing the same. Looking down to Zone, he was relieved to see that the rodent had dissected a passing serviette and wrapped a torn off piece around his head and muzzle, forming a face-rag.

"We need to get to the parachutes!" Reiko yelled through his mask as the half-crippled plane shuddered.

"Are you insane?!" Zone yelled at the vampire, "You want to dangle around on a parachute in the open air like _fishing bait_? Why stop there, I'll stick a fork in my furry ass and we'll line up on a _buffet table_ for it!".

Reiko cursed irritably, not appreciating the hamster's sarcasm, but grudgingly conceding that he had a point. Parachutes were not the answer, not with the Leviathan picking snacks out of the air. As the plane began to corkscrew, unbalanced by the loss of one wing, the vampire took desperate measures. Wrenching the chair besides him out of the floor, he grabbed the others and along with the seat, dived out of the hole.

"Couldn't bear to leave business class behind could you?" Zone asked rhetorically as they sailed atop the seat into the open sky. Reiko would have rebuked him, but in truth he was making this up as he went along.

"At least the view is nice" Arson remarked as they hung thousands of feet over the city. The cloudy scenery would have been serene if they weren't dropping through it like a stone. However, this wasn't the worst of their problems, as the remaining wing of the spinning plane rose up under them like a giant steel flyswatter.

"Oh…" Reiko muttered in awkward concern. The normally calculating vampire had been too rushed to foresee this particular risk of jumping out the hole made by a missing wing when the plane was spinning.

"Shit" Arson added, the normally clean-mouthed hybrid summarising what they were in a great quantity of.

As the wing arced up to bring their diverging voyage into one-seated aviation to a sudden conclusion, there was a flash of light and suddenly they were jerked to the side. With a stomach-lurching sense of mass and inertia, the wing swept narrowly passed them, sending the trio tumbling, struggling to hold onto each other.

Reiko eventually managed to bring the chair he still wasn't sure why he was hanging onto under control, Arson clutched to his back. He looked back to see Zone gripping the hybrid's coat, laser gun in one paw. The rodent had cut the recoil suppressor and used a burst of energy to shove them out of the wing's path.

"Nice work" Reiko complemented breathlessly, impressed by and grateful for the hamster's quick thinking.

"Thanks" Zone replied with a grin. "Our success is still up in the air though" he added, punning even at a time like this. He had been about to shoot the wing itself, but the mental image of the broken off section spiralling into them anyway had prompted the normally headstrong hamster to pick a less direct approach.

Reiko looked past him to see the Leviathan circle round to finish off the plane. He suddenly thought of the other passengers worriedly. However as he watched, he saw several specks leave the craft, those capable of flight carrying the rest. With a pang of guilt Reiko realised it might have been best to stay and ask for help, but it was too late now, and as the plane was devoured he focused on fixing the problem he'd got them into.

"Hey, um, mister Reiko sir" Arson was tapping him on the shoulder frantically, trying to get his attention.

"What is it?" Reiko asked, turning round, and following the hybrid's pointing arm, which eliminated the need to ask. Their turbulent escape had given them a good deal of horizontal velocity to complement their vertical momentum. The resulting angle was sending them straight towards the side of the Temen-Ni-Gru.

"This is not going well" Reiko admitted as the demon tower filled their immediate future at an alarming pace. Looking to his comrades, he stared at Zone hopefully, but the rodent looked at him incredulously.

"You've got to be kidding!" Zone answered the unspoken question, "I could stop myself with a laser burst, but our combined weight must be hundreds of times my own. There's no way I can cancel out that inertia!".

Reiko's hopeful expression fell as quickly as they were upon hearing this, although it was some consolation that Zone had made no mention or sign of abandoning them, despite admitting he was able to save himself.

"But I've been on the Weight Watchers program, and I _really_ stuck to it!" Arson wailed loudly in protest.

His mind working overtime, Reiko tried to come up with a way out of this, as the shadow of the tower fell over them. Concocting a desperate plan, he angled the seat down, using it to crudely surf the air and make their plummet more vertical and less horizontal.

"Oh great, so rather than splatting against the side of the tower, we'll crash at the base. At least it'll save people the effort of burying our bodies" Zone rambled sarcastically, venting some of his nervous energy.

Reiko ignored his criticisms, understanding the rodent was quite reasonably terrified, focusing on angling them as best he could, given their crude aerodynamics. "Arson, use your swords!" he called out suddenly.

Arson looked down at him in panicked confusion, and then up at the rough surface of the tower rushing past them, only about thirty feet away. As they came closer, he suddenly understood, and drew his swords.

As the tower's surface came within ten feet of them, Reiko gripped the seat with his legs and drew his staff. At five feet, he thrust it out, and his arms jarred with the impact as it skimmed against the hard wall of the tower. In the window of time this bought, Arson stabbed Dragon and Phoenix forwards, sinking them into the side of the Temen-Ni-Gru. The stone continued to blur past and the teenager's muscled bunched with the effort of hanging on, the insane heat of the friction at least no concern to him or his fire-attuned blades.

They scraped a sparking trail down the side of the tower, Reiko having managed to angle them for a line of descent between the odd window-like depressions in its surface. They were slowing down bit by bit, but they were going to run out of before the hybrid won his battle against gravity with their combined weight.

As the ground loomed up, Zone muttering something lost in the rushing wind about too many large things looming at them today, Reiko called out to Arson. "Give us a boost away from the tower!" he instructed.

Arson nodded, too focused on not losing his grip to question the command, and with a grunt he channelled his energy through the blades. Moments later, as they dropped below the one hundred feet altitude mark, a powerful blast of fire erupted from the twin swords, propelling them away from the tower like a jet engine.

"Hold on tight" Reiko grunted, yanking Arson down and holding onto him and the seat, Zone having had a revelation that he needed to be secure _now_, and subsequently he had scurried into one of Reiko's pockets.

The hybrid's blast hadn't been enough to counter their descent directly, but by angling it to the side, it had transferred most of their momentum into the horizontal. As they arced out on a trail of flame from the Temen-Ni-Gru, the urban sprawl rose up, and met them.

The seat they'd been riding the whole time screeched in protest as it skidded along a rooftop, the material being burnt away by the friction as they ploughed up rubble. With a sickening lurch they shot off the side of the building, sailed for a brief moment over a street, and continued skimming across the next building.

This continued for several rooftops, the seat being built to survive a crash, but a crash while still inside the aircraft it had been taken from. They were able to burn off a considerable amount of momentum as they bobsleighed across the city roofs, but were still going damn fast when they ran out of improvised runway…

----

Zone awoke with that same creeping horror that curdles the soul of a straight man when he wakes up after a party to find himself in bed next to his best male friend, both of them naked. The only difference was rather than regaining consciousness to find he'd had homosexual intercourse, Zone awoke with an ugly headache.

"Owww, my pain hurts" the rodent winced, tenderly rubbing his head and opening his eyes, both moves he regretted. His entire skull stung, and it took a while for his vision to compose itself into anything but blurs.

When it finally did, the sight that greeted him challenged his already shaky state of mind on several levels. Some kind of angelic figure seemed to be standing over him, and the hamster was faced with a question. "I'm dead?" he thought out loud, and then chuckled, "Hehe, I was worried I was due for the other place".

"Well, if it isn't my favourite flammable pervert" the figure said, and Zone thought it was an odd thing for an angel to say. Come to think of it, there was a thing or two out of place about the divine being, the rodent began to notice. For example, it seemed unusually heavily armed, with human-looking firearms no less. On top of that, while Zone was sure angels were meant to be pretty, he was less certain they should be so, sexy.

"Mm, are you allowed to get horny in the afterlife?" the hamster asked as a white smudge resolved itself into a rather sizeable pair of breasts. In answer to his question, the angel held up something black, and the ground near Zone's head exploded, the sudden noise and force clearing his clouded mind in record time.

"I'd be happy to help you find out" the figure responded icily, and in a couple of blinks Zone found he was staring up at Lady, specifically, up the barrel of one of her pistols. He suddenly regretted thinking out loud.

At this point there was a moan and a rumble, and hamster and demon hunter alike turned to the large pile of rubble filling half the street. Several slabs of concrete and stone displaced themselves, and from underneath arose Reiko, the vampire looking terribly stereotypical as he rose from the ground moaning and staggering.

"Ah, the light, it burns" he complained, shielding his eyes from the sun. He rubbed them, and they slowly adjusted to the light. He stumbled off of the rocks and looking around, spotting Lady, and then Zone, glad the latter was alive, but more worried by the expression the former wore than the gun she was pointing at him. "Hello Lady" he said sheepishly, like a child caught making a mess, which wasn't far from the truth.

"Hello" she replied with curt exasperation, lowering her guns as if disappointed she'd bothered to raise them in the first place. "I won't ask about the mess, I'm too tired to here an explanation" she said wearily, looking between Zone and Reiko, and realised something. "Wasn't there three of you last time?" she asked.

As if in answer to this, a noise emanated from the building the pile of rubble was heaped against. It came out of a first story window that looked like something had smashed through it fast, and sounded oddly, like a flushing toilet. Suddenly Arson's head bobbed into view and he waved to them, "Be right down!" he said.

A minute later, and the hybrid walked out from the semi-demolished front of the building, the door falling off its hinges as he opened it. Blushing bashfully at this, he scooted over to Reiko, standing besides him with his head lowered and his hands behind his back, hoping he wasn't in trouble for breaking anything.

Lady gave him a tired expression, and there was a general fatigue about her that became more apparent every moment she stood there. "Are you all alright?" she asked eventually, skipping the sharp remarks.

The three of them checked themselves, and while there was a good deal of torn clothing, frayed hair and messed up fur, miraculously they had sustained no serious injuries. There was a lot of aches, and numerous sores and pains, but their bodies had had some time to recover while they lay unconscious in the aftermath of their landing. They were still stiff, but moving was beginning to walk that off and overall they were fine.

"Alright, come with me then" Lady instructed them briskly after they finished checking themselves. "It's not safe to hang around in the open. A lot has happened since you left, we'll get back to camp and then I'll fill you in" she told them as they followed her, wincing as their bodies recovered from the crash landing…


	23. Deus Ex Machina

_**Author's Notes:** I guess a it's that time of year still with tests and stuff, or at least I hope it's more a case of that than reviewers not dropping by out of disgust :o. Hehe, well a rodent can hope, although it's a shame SinOan doesn't seem to be around at the moment, I seem to remember him mentioning using a Deus Ex Machina, and I've been saving this one for a while, hehe. I won't be pulling this kind of stunt regularly, it's a one off, part parody and part something that really does have a history with the character involved. Anyway, not one of the most humour-driven chapters, but regardless, to all who read, thanks and enjoy :D._  
----  
Lady, Reiko, Arson and Zone made their way through the deserted streets, in that order, the demon hunter leading the way. She was constantly on guard and it rubbed off on the others, making them edgy, but fortunately no demons appeared to attack them.

After a few minutes they came to a dilapidated building that looked no different than those around it, and Lady lead them inside, where they quickly went to the back and descended into the basement. Down here was similar to the Bullseye bar, survivors huddled together, but the accommodation had taken a budget cut.

"People are gathering wherever there's food, shelter and numbers" Lady explained briefly as they walked through the scattered crowd of people sitting or lying about. They came to a backroom with a door still intact and Lady opened it an entered, the trio following into what looked like a makeshift briefing room.

"Take a seat if you like" Lady offered. Roughly in the middle of the room a large chunk of debris with a flat top had fallen through, and someone had put a few empty crates around it, turning it into something like a meeting table. Arson dropped down onto one box and Zone hopped up onto another, while Reiko leaned against the wall. Lady for her part just sat on the table itself, setting Kalina Ann down to get the weight off.

"So what's up?" Zone asked, the curious rodent beating Reiko to the punch in asking what they wondered.

Lady sighed, and it was obvious she was thinly stretched. The young demon hunter had enough to worry about dealing with her own problems, she wasn't used to working with others. Her quest for revenge drove her on originally, but she had no hope of killing Arkham with Mary sue holding the plot up like she was.

Instead, Lady had found herself trying to help out her fellow humans, driven by a sense of compassion that still survived inside her. "All Hell broke loose early, basically" she said, not one for formal briefings either.

Seeing the expressions this got, she thought it might do with a little elaboration, and added "Without Dante and Vergil around to keep their numbers down, the demons have been getting out of control and the area around the tower that isn't safe is growing by the hour. On top of that Mary Sue's continued presence is, destabilising the fandom or something, Nevan explained it before she left. The laws of canon are being weakened and stuff like demons from the other games are leaking through. Mary Sue hasn't done anything directly herself at least; she's still inside the tower for all I know, but things are bad enough without her".

The others took a moment to let this sink in, but in truth they hadn't expected much different. Reiko was the first to speak up, "So Mary Sue is the source of the problem, but she's surrounded by a horde of demons too large to overcome by any means available?".

"In a nutshell, yes" Lady replied. "I'm not sure how tough she is, but no one can even get near her. Dante and Vergil could probably cut through the demons, but she's already dealt with them, and if more powerful enemies from the later games come through the cracks, soon even together they won't be enough. She's got things nicely stacked in her favour" the young woman added bitterly, her contempt for Mary Sue obvious.

"It's one of those key in a safe things" Zone thought out loud, trying to figure how to gain the upper paw.

"Don't safes have combination locks?" Arson piped up.

"That's… Besides the point" Zone snapped back, at a loss for a direct rebuke since most safes indeed did not have keys. Arson crossed his arms, made an indignant humph noise, and turned his head away, chin held high. The rodent ignored him back, but without the theatrics, instead focusing on the challenge before them. They had a way of getting to Mary Sue, but they needed to get close to the tower first, and from the sounds of it that wouldn't be easy. Although Zone didn't like to admit it, perhaps they could use some help.

"We-" was all he got out before Reiko cut him off.

"Will go out and check for any more survivors. If we are attacked we should at least be able to make a fighting retreat to safety" the vampire said, ignoring the withering glare the hamster was subjecting him to.

Lady gave him a slightly surprised look, since last she'd seen them, settling down and digging in seemed to be the last thing on their minds. Still it was reasonable, so she agreed, "Alright, but don't stay out too long".

Reiko nodded and opened the door, "Come on guys, we've got important work to do" he said. Arson stood up to follow, and Zone wanted to say a lot of things, but decided to bite his tongue until they were outside.

Walking back through the underground huddle, Arson stole an unsupervised bottle of Coke and started drinking it as they headed back up to the ground floor and exited the building. Once outside, Zone rounded on the vampire. "What was _that_ all about? I admit I'm rarely the voice of reason here, but the Temen-Ni-Gru is surrounded by swarms of demons. _Swarms_, plural. We won't be able to get near it alone, don't you think it might be smart to gather a little _help_, a small _force_ maybe?" the rodent ranted on irritably at Reiko.

The vampire listened to him calmly, waiting for him to finish. When Zone was done, Reiko's response was calm, "If we tell Lady what we plan to do, she will either not help us, or try to help us too much. She would not stop at helping us reach Mary Sue; she'd want to fight her, and the same probably goes for anyone else who would join us. We cannot risk the lives of others, least of all one of the key characters of the series".

Zone heard him out, and found himself wanting to argue back, but he fought down the urge. "… Conceded, you have a point" the rodent said with some self-restraint. "You could have clued us both in earlier though" he added brazenly, a familiar smirk crossing his face, "I don't suppose you have a plan, though, do you?".

Reiko smiled slightly, "Sorry, it did not occur to me to mention it earlier, and no, I'm not sure how we'll get close enough to the tower to execute our plan, but I'm positive that wasn't the right way" he responded.

"How close do we need to get again?" Arson asked.

"Within a stone's throw of the tower if I recall right, the entrance is literally right by it" Zone replied.

"Yes, that's true, and if the demons are overflowing from the tower, there's no way around the problem, we need to get through, but there'll be hundreds of them" Reiko added, the vampire pensive at their problem.

They lapsed into a thoughtful silence, a very dangerous obstacle between them and their objective. Whether or not they could fight together well enough to defeat Mary Sue would be of little use against a press of demons so thick they were separated and unable to coordinate together. Several minutes passed, until Zone suddenly spoke up. "I think, I might have just the thing" he said with a spreading grin, the other two giving him doubtful but curious looks. The rodent seemed more convinced in his inspiration by the second though, and gestured animatedly to the other two, "Come on, you're gonna _love_ this" he promised them excitedly…

----

Sometime later, and the trio had managed to, at the hamster's insistence, track down an entry point. That's an area where people can enter and leave the fandom, for those curious, there's a few scattered thinly about.

"Alright, just give me a minute" Zone said as he dialled out on the public phone. Evidently someone had been watching The Matrix when designing this point. The others were still wearing doubtful expressions.

"Are you sure this will be enough? I mean, hamster-sized and all?" Reiko inquired politely but to the point.

Zone looked over his shoulder at him, or as much of one as he had, and winked. "_Trust me_" he said with incorrigible assuredness. "Oh and, you might want to stand back" he advised a moment before he vanished.

Reiko looked at Arson bemusedly, who muttered "Couldn't hurt". They gave the phone booth some space.

A minute passed, and another followed asking the first where it thought it was going on such short notice.

Reiko was about to try and think of a mature way to complain, when the phone began to ring, the warning for an incoming signal. A moment later and a white light emanated from the earpiece, and began to grow.

"I'm gonna, back off some more" Arson muttered as the light continued to expand over the ground in front of the booth. He did so, and Reiko followed, moving away as it kept growing. The special effects weren't anything amazing, that was just how the entry point worked, but the size of what was coming through was another matter altogether. Eventually the light faded, and what stood in its place got a nice stunned silence.

It was a tank. That wasn't surprising to Reiko and Arson, as Zone had promised them a tank, but they hadn't expected, so much of a tank. The war machine before them was from track bases to turret top three metres tall, five metres wide and a full eight meters long. It was in short, a fully-fledged tank. The heavily armoured chassis was mostly an almost pitch black, ever so faintly tinted blue, so that you'd only really notice by comparing it to true pitch black. This was complemented by touches of a dark metallic blue that weren't too eye-catching, but stylish in a very hard, edged way. It was armed with a sophisticated looking yet sturdily built main cannon on the turret, and rolled on all-terrain caterpillar treads like most tanks do.

The hatchway on top opened up, and dwarfed by the vehicle from which it came, out popped Zone's head. "Haha, hamster-sized _this_!" he laughed triumphantly at the dumbstruck expressions on his friends' faces.

"Where did you get this?" Reiko eventually found his tongue to ask, looking over the armoured hull in awe.

"Give me some credit" Zone replied. "I mean, in all the time I've had in my laboratory, you thought I _never_ came up with anything besides a lightsabre? You don't see much of my stuff because it's very hard to make anything effective, yet small enough for me to carry. But this carries _me_" he said, patting the tank proudly.

"Not compensating for anything are you?" Arson asked suspiciously. In answer, the enormous, long, thick, hard barrel of the tank swivelled round smoothly and pointed at him. "OK, OK, I take it back" Arson said, waving his hands in rapid diplomacy, and with a smug grin Zone returned the gun to its original position.

"This baby is the epitome of my work thus far. It's not invincible…" Zone grudgingly admitted. "But it's my very own Deus Ex Machina. Took absolutely ages to make, and there's not many situations it's suited to. But I think current circumstances proves it pays to have an ace up your sleeve… Or in your garage" he said, modifying the phrase since even if he had sleeves, he'd never find one big enough to park his tank up.

"Impressive" Reiko said, giving credit where it was due. "Is there enough room for us inside?" he asked, since even though the vehicle was at least as big as a normal tank, Zone had probably built it for him to use.

"It's not a limo, but there's room" Zone replied, inviting the other two in with a gesture of his paw. They climbed up the hull of the tank and as the rodent dropped back inside, they followed him. Indeed there was only formal seating for the rodent, but there was plenty of free space for the other two to sit without being cramped. Zone closed the hatch with the controls, and turned back to grin at the other two in the blue-hued interior lighting. "Well if you're comfy, please enjoy the ride" he said with an excited edge to his voice…

----

Around the Temen-Ni-Gru, the demons were overflowing. Hells, Enigmas, even the Damned Chessmen were thronging in the streets, slowly spreading out in an all-consuming spill of carnage. Here and there among the masses could be seen creatures out of place, Marionettes, Blades, Sins and other monsters from Devil May Cry 1 or 2 that had slipped through the weakening barrier between the different game worlds.

The demons seethed without reason or rhyme, all victims in the local vicinity long ago massacred. They did however pause and look up from there preying at the sound of a distant rumbling, eager for the promise of fresh meat to slaughter. However, what came crashing down the street was not flesh, but a beast of metal.

"_Yeeehaah_!!" Zone screamed as his beloved tank ploughed headfirst into the supernatural ranks at 40KPH. Various Hells crumbled to dust, Chessmen exploded to rubble and anything else was just crushed beneath the treads of his machine of doom. If he wasn't so excited the tyrant would have shed tears of pride and joy.

Behind him Reiko and Arson could only watch on the screens giving an external view. "Does it have to be so bumpy?" the hybrid complained as they ran over a Hall Wrath, the explosion rocking the vehicle around.

"You can get out and ask them to move if you want" Zone snapped back, focused on the enemies ahead. More dangerous beings were starting to show up. The rodent brought them into the main cannon's sights.

With a crackling discharge, the turret spat a raw beam of energy, the massive blast of power vapourising the air in its wake as it sailed towards its target. With thunderous impact the entire width of the street ahead was enveloped in an expanding sphere of crackling light, obliterating a huge swathe of demons as well as destroying the buildings to either side, not to mention punching a crater in the road itself. Zone didn't even slow down as the tank drove into it and up the other side, the versatile vehicle handling the obstacle easily.

"We're already halfway through" Reiko reported from inside, seeing the tower looming close on the screen.

"Yeah, I can tell" Zone replied, the resistance getting thicker, his tank losing a little speed from the sheer number of demons it had to run over to advance. Some of the more agile creatures were starting to clamber onto the hull, but they could barely scratch the armour. One Blade saw the turret and scrambled onto it, seeing the hole as a way past the thick hide of this strange beast. The poor thing, Zone thought, as he quite leisurely pulled the trigger. Its component molecules probably didn't survive that he thought as another laser blast cut down hordes of demons. A third blast toppled a building on one side of the road onto the enemies in it, and the tank bludgeoned its way through the rubble a moment later, almost at their target.

"Hey, what's that thing?" Arson asked, leaning forwards and pointing at something at the base of the tower.

Zone looked up, not quite able to make it out, but as they closed Reiko was. "It's a Phantom" he muttered.

Sure enough, standing right at the base of the tower was a gigantic cross between a spider, a scorpion, and a volcano. The Phantom, and Arson wondered how such a massive, loud and destructive thing got that name, opened its mouth and roared deafeningly. Fire and light began to swirl in its mouth and a moment later it spat a burning meteor of rock and lava, which smacked headfirst into the front of the tank, making it skid.

"Oh shit" Zone muttered as lights he really would have preferred to stay blue started turning red. They were only one block away from the beast and as Arson and Reiko asked him distracting, unimportant things like are they going to die or not, Zone took aim. The Phantom opened its mouth and began charging again, and was halfway done when Zone beat it to the punch, another burst of energy lancing from the tank's cannon.

The bolt of light leapt right into the demon's mouth, spearing through the fireball it was gathering, causing it to erupt in its face, before piercing into its insides. The Phantom let out an ear-shattering roar of agony, but its mouth was quickly plugged by none other than the front of the tank, as a moment later the vehicle ploughed full speed into it, ramming the monster against the side of the tower and finally coming to a halt.

"This thing can take a lot of punishment" Arson said, he and Reiko in a heap at the back after the collision.

As the hybrid and vampire detangled themselves from each other, Zone was watching as red spread across his controls like a rash. "Actually" he said with rising panic, "I think it's gonna explode in five seconds."

"_What_?!" Reiko spat in disbelief, having to raise his voice over the increasingly numerous alarms going off.

"Four seconds" Zone replied with suitable adjustment, having already pressed the button to open the hatch.

As it swung open, Reiko leapt forwards and grabbed the rodent, then turned and caught Arson's collar. Tensing his legs he leapt straight through the open hatch and clear of the vehicle, landing but not stopping.

When they were clear of the tank, he let go of Arson and Zone, who turned to look at his baby. The vehicle was at an angle against the side of the tower, the disintegrating remains of the Phantom beneath it. Those same remains were also eating the tank however, the machine well made but not enough to survive such extended exposure to molten lava. With a metallic bubbling the machine slowly disintegrated before them.

"We have to" Reiko began to say, but then he noticed Zone's expression. It was one of mourning. Putting off matters for a moment, he leaned down and rested a hand on the rodent, covering his entire back. "It was a noble sacrifice" the vampire said consolingly.

Zone turned his head to look at him, sniffing and blinking back a couple of tears. "I know" he said with a smile despite his sadness, "I memorised her inside out, I can make her again, better perhaps even, even if it will take a lot of time and effort. I was just paying my last respects and, giving my thanks for helping us".

Reiko nodded in understanding, and allowed the hamster a couple of moments to mourn. It was strange but, in a way he could understand it. If you put so much time and energy and heart into making something, then perhaps you could come to love it. Also, the vampire found a new respect for Zone for his ability to care for something enough to cry for its loss. Reiko had seen the hamster cry before, but this was a new side of him.

"Alright, lets go" Zone said at last, wiping his eyes and clearing his vision. His face set into a determined expression and he turned to Reiko, who nodded. They both rose and saw Arson standing by a garage door.

"You guys ready?" the hybrid asked, and the others nodded. All around them the demons were starting to close in like a vice. Reiko and Zone quickly joined Arson at the door, and the hybrid gave the rodent a lift up onto his shoulder. The vampire placed his hand on the door, and Arson put his besides it. Zone walked down their arms and placed his paw on it as well, and together, they pushed. For a long moment nothing happened, the demons closing in, and then they seemed to shimmer, and passed through the solid door…


	24. He Plucks The Threads That Make Us Dance

_**Author's Notes:** Well, what can I say? It's two days late, so um... Sorry about that :o, but if it's any consolation, it's also the longest chapter so far :D. I can't make many excuses to be honest, basically it came down to two things. One was not getting enough sleep, and two, getting completely absorbed by Dirge Of Cerberus... Vincent Valentine is my absolute favourite fictional character ever, period, cut me some slack XD. Hehe, anyway, it's finally finished, and, it wasn't intended to be this long by far, but by the time I had fitted everything I wanted to in well, here's the result. Hopefully the size and, fingers crossed, quality, will make up for the delay, and I intend to put out 25 on schedule 2 days from now. Anyway, a few questions answered here, enjoy!  
_----  
Upon the disintegrating fabric of the universe one tendril still weaved through the ether unbroken, winding from the epicentre of chaos to the edge of perception. It was the final ray of hope, and at its outermost limit three entities coalesced from the abyss they had cast themselves into, washed ashore to their final chance…

"Lets do that again!" Arson yelled excitedly, sitting bolt upright from his former position of lying down.

"How about, lets not" Zone replied on his and Reiko's behalf, the rodent having rolled over onto all fours.

"It's just us three now" Reiko noted on a slightly more positive note as he rubbed his eyes, recovering from the dizzying journey, reminding them that they only had each other. They had passed the point of no return.

"We've had like over 20 chapters to establish ourselves, if we can't carry the story ourselves by now we should probably give up out of shame" Zone remarked with a smirk, raring to face the challenges ahead.

Reiko sat up as he did, recuperated from the nausea plaguing him, and cast his eyes around. We shall now look through them, for out of all of those present, the vampire was most able to make sense of what he saw.

They lay upon a large floating stone platform, perhaps 30 metres across, although distance seemed a little less certain here than it should be. From the underside of the structure arched four talon-like pillars, one at each compass facing, reaching up from below and clawing inwards gradually like some vast, surreal hand clasping the dais. What lay beyond this sanctuary of solid ground, was a madness foolish to attempt the comprehension of, a swirling maelstrom of distorted psychosis folding in upon itself with perverse insanity.

And yet, hanging there in the psychedelic void supported only by that Hellish platform, they were exactly where they wanted to be. "Well, that's the easy part over" Reiko said, glancing into the swirling beyond, but only curiously; there was no point in contemplating the chaotic. It had been a risk, throwing themselves to this wayward strand of reality not even knowing if it had survived, but had also been their best chance.

"So this is what it's like when worlds corrode" Zone said, a little more awed. The vortex writhing around them was in fact the very underlying fabric of the DMC3 fandom itself. Although he'd never seen it before, Matier had explained that normally this binding energy pulsed with a rhythmic order of life, a pattern of sustaining energy, not unlike blood within a living being. But now the tapestry was coming unravelled, wrought by turbulent fluctuations that it would rend itself apart if the disturbance could not be stabilised.

As they slowly rose to their feet and hind paws respectively, energy crackled around the pinnacle of three of the four spikes surrounding the platform, as if sensing their presence. From each erupted an emission of force, striking the ground and creating three glowing circles. In turn from each of these points arose a pillar, first a swirling whirlpool of water, then a crackling storm of lightning, and finally, a blazing inferno of fire.

The trio watched this with interest, Zone gesturing to indicate his moderate approval of the special effects, while Arson leaned back trying to see how high they went, the hybrid ending up falling over flat on his ass.

As he scampered back to his feet like nothing had happened, Reiko rubbed his chin. "So these each lead to a secret mission. But which to which?" he thought out loud, examining the three elemental portals closely.

This was their plan, their last throw of the dice. The structure of the fandom was rapidly deteriorating, and even if they managed to infiltrate the Temen-Ni-Gru, navigate the deadly traps and overcome the hordes of demons, no simple task, there was no guarantee they could reach Mary Sue. Her presence could disrupt the canon of the tower's layout, resulting in them becoming hopelessly lost within the ever-changing labyrinth.

There was another way though, an obscure but vital alternative. The secret missions. While not part of the main canon, they were still buried deep within the factual structure of the DMC3 universe, and would thus take much longer to be influenced by the chaotic influence of Mary Sue's presence. Normally this subrealm was dependant on the main levels, its own liner structure subservient to its host. However, with the surface canon in upheaval, the detached wisp drifted, and was inevitably drawn to the nexus of the disturbance. By throwing themselves onto the tail of this entwined path, they hoped to follow it to where their enemy dwelt.

As Reiko tried to decipher the arcane thresholds, Arson reached into his coat and pulled out a book, which he opened. Flicking through it, he stuck his tongue out thoughtfully, glancing between it and the portals. "I think, they go to secret missions 1, 2 and 3 respectively" he said, pointing to water, lighting and finally fire.

Reiko turned sharply to look at the hybrid, wondering how he could possibly guess such things, and saw the book he held. "What is that?" the vampire inquired.

"Oh, It's the official strategy guide" Arson said with a helpful, beaming smile, holding it up for all to see.

Reiko stared at the book. From its cover the twin sons of Sparda stared back at him, and the vampire briefly noticed Dante looked a little emo in that particular shot. "Where did you get it?" he demanded after rallying his senses against this development, irritated that the hybrid had failed to mention such a valuable resource.

"Oh, Matier gave it to me, said it'd be useful" Arson said with a shrug accompanied by an innocuous grin.

Reiko clawed his fingers through his hair and groaned in exasperation. "And you never mentioned-" he cut himself off, realising the answer would most likely not be enlightening or in the least bit satisfying. Instead he strode over to the hybrid and snatched the book from his hands with a frustrated "Give me that Arson".

"Hey, don't bend the pages!" the hybrid complained, but Reiko hushed him, leaving Arson to pout while he focused on reading the insider info, top cheats, tips, tricks and 100 hidden bonuses, all for a bargain price.

"Alright, time is of the essence so we'll have to split up. Arson you should take the water portal" he said, too focused to notice the quiet sniffling coming from the hybrid, "Zone, you take the lightning portal, I-".

He got no further as the hamster cut him off. "Hold up Captain Corpse, who died and left you in charge, yourself?" he challenged defiantly, "I'm not here for your _convenience_, and I don't think Arson is either".

Reiko looked at him, and was about to say something, when he noticed Arson did look upset. It struck him suddenly that he'd taken control in a rather assumptive way, even though he'd only been trying to organise them. "I'm, sorry, I jumped the gun. My mistake" he admitted his error, Arson cheering up at the apology.

Zone wasn't so easily satisfied though, "Yes, your mistake. Now if you're finished playing out your scout leader fantasies, maybe we can move on?" he said testily. Perhaps he was being harsh, but Reiko's gall to simply tell him what to do like he was a freaking chess piece had incensed him. He wasn't a damn puppet.

"I apologised, you needn't continue persecuting me" Reiko replied, trying to keep the resent from his voice.

"Oh save it will you?" Zone snapped back sharply. "And you can quit crying too" he directed this at Arson, who was getting upset by the animosity again. Zone shook his head in aggravation, "Look, this really is not the time for emotional _frivolities_! Didn't you say just a minute ago time is off the essence? Unless you plan to defeat Mary Sue with a big ray of love, all this sentimentality, wonderful as it is, will not, do_, anything_. I mean, _all_ that I'm_ asking_, is that we communicate and get a move on, is that such an outrageous request?".

It is a rather unique sight to see a six-inch tall furball not only rant at a vampire and a teenager, but for that audience to recoil from the verbal onslaught. Throw in their surroundings and it was a real Kodak moment.

After a few moments of tense silence Reiko cleared his throat. Part of him wanted to rebuke Zone, for even though he had a point he didn't have to make it with such needless aggression. But instead, swallowing his minimal pride, the vampire nodded, "Very well, I shall explain why I advise we each do a certain mission".

"Well, fine" Zone said, slightly at a loss for a reply, in the end just crossing his arms and waiting. Having vented some steam, he was actually regretting a little how hard he'd gone off on them, feeling he'd taken it a bit too far, at least. He didn't say anything though, that wouldn't help things. If he had screwed up some, then dwelling on it would only let more precious time slip by them and make it worse, the rodent reasoned.

"Arson, the water portal leads to secret mission 1 where you must eliminate a number of demons in one minute. I think as the most capable in combat you should attempt it" Reiko explained, rather than ordered.

"OK… Say, what happens if we fail a mission?" Arson asked curiously. Normally such a thing returned one to the normal mission you entered it from, but normally had gone out of the window a _long_ time ago.

"I, don't know" Reiko said after some thought, "It would be best if we avoided finding out. Anyway, Zone, I think you should take the lightning portal to mission 2. You must defeat the enemies without getting hit".

"So, it's just the same as every fight for me" Zone translated, always just one lucky blow away from death.

"You are the most expert in that stipulation of battle, yes" Reiko agreed in more diplomatic terms, glad that their previous fighting seemed to have settled. "The fire portal leads to mission 3, where one must stay off the ground for 20 continuous seconds. It seems to be tactically based, so I am most likely best suited to it".

The other two agreed with this, and giving the book back to Arson for safekeeping, Reiko turned to the fire portal. The trio bid each other good luck in their various mannerisms, and then entered their trials, alone…

----

As the light faded Arson swayed slightly, a little unbalanced by the floating sensation of the watery channel he had travelled through. He blinked his vision into focus, and found himself in The Love Planet strip joint. The hybrid wondered briefly whether he was truly here, or only in some uncanny reflection of the location, and if someone could just stroll in during the mission.

There wasn't time to ponder this though, as moments after his arrival the distinct cry of demons filled the room. Its origin followed shortly, as Hells phased in from the walls and air. Drawing Phoenix and Dragon swiftly, the burning swords roaring to life, Arson wasted no time in engaging them; he had none to spare.

The nearest Pride didn't even touch the ground before it was impaled through its chest by a flaming blade. Following his own momentum, Arson flipped over the first victim and axe kicked the scythe of the second, pinning it to the ground and dragging Phoenix down through the first demon, severing it in half. A thrusting kick sent the other creature crashing into a table, which collapsed under its weight as it shattered into sand, Arson swinging Dragon up in a reverse-grip to parry an incoming scythe, following through with Phoenix.

The hybrid tore into his enemies, turning, slashing, parrying; ripping them apart without restraint. Although fairly lowly demons and not too great in number, he was forced to fight them recklessly to beat the clock. A Lust rushed him with a vicious scythe uppercut, but Arson jumped inside the blade's arc. Using its head as a platform, he flipped higher and kicked off the ceiling to drive himself back down, both swords stabbing through the floored demon. Rising hastily he reacted just fast enough to stop the blade of a teleporting Sloth lashing into him, staggering from the blow but throwing himself back at the demon with a grunt, punishing it with a flurry of furious slashes. This wouldn't take a minute he thought; after all, that's all the time had…

----

Zone made a mildly irritated noise as he brushed his fur back into place, the lightning portal having made it stand on end. He wasn't vain, but he'd be damned if he'd save the world looking like a mutated pompom.

The iridescent vessel deposited him in a vast room, and the first thing he noticed was it was cold, the rodent shivering slightly as icy air probed through his fur. Once the light faded completely, he recognised it as the chamber of Cerberus, guardian to the gate of Temen-Ni-Gru.

The second thing he noticed was the line of five Enigmas activating their weapons and taking aim at him.

"Bring it" the hamster taunted confidently, drawing his own weapons. True the odds were against him; just a single hit would spell defeat. But for the diminutive rodent, how was that different from any other day?

Zone zigzagged forwards on his hind legs, a volley of blue shards stabbing into the ground around him as his small size and respectable mobility making him a difficult target. Pausing to take precise aim, he fired a focused beam at one of the possessed statues. The laser pierced the creature's eye, sending it toppling back and crumbling to dust as the remaining four fired.

"I need an umbrella" the rodent half-joked worriedly to pacify his nerves, darting through a rapidly thickening forest of knives on all fours while trying not to be caught in the rain of arrows from above. Running out of room, he activated his lightsabre and slashed out, shattering a cluster of arrows. With another swipe he escaped the deadly sapphire jungle.

Realising that their indirect fire wasn't working, the Enigmas tried aiming straight at him, Zone picking off another of their number in the lull. His joyful cheer was quickly replaced by a worried yelp as he was soon ducking and darting over, under and around a storm of arrows getting ever closer to him. Frantically he cut his laser's suppressor, firing it at the ground and launching himself high into the air and out of harm's way.

The Enigmas struggled to target the airborne rodent, who subsequently sailed down right onto one of them. Scurrying all over the lumbering statue, Zone hacked and slashed mercilessly, practically dismantling it. As it tumbled over he jumped off towards its nearest friend, which was taking aim with a fully charged salvo…

----

The instinctual fear of fire flared up as the billowing warmth of the portal surrounding the vampire, but he tamed it. Once the flames faded, he recognised the place he stood in as a room from the Trial Of Wisdom.

Reiko watched on guard as several Hell Prides warped into the room. They surrounded him, but he stayed his hand, instead sizing them up with a calculating gaze, aware his mission was not to defeat, but use them.

Of course, this did not mean they would cooperate, and he was granted scant few seconds to plan his moves before they closed in on him and brought their scythes to bear. Reiko swept aside one and jumped through the opening in the descending blades this created, starting the clock ticking. Kicking back off of the head of the demon he had parried he rebounded and balanced on the lengths of the others' weapons, harassing them with his staff to try and delay them. One by one though they raised their scythes and he ran out of handles to stand on, jumping to one of the creatures itself and awkwardly balancing standing on top of its shoulders.

This of course didn't go down well with the demon, which lashed up with its scythe, Reiko barely blocking the awkward angle of the attack, but losing his balance from the impact. Turning as he fell, he pushed off of his unwilling host, wobblingly kicking off of the head of another Pride and stumbling, vaulting onto a third.

It is a curious phenomenon that the closer to its limits a mind is, the more each moment seems to endure, as a plethora of thoughts and reactions blitzed Reiko's attention, yet he had only been dodging scant seconds.

Having drawn the group over to the wall, he kicked off of it and planted his feet on the chests of two Hells. As the demons lashed out he pushed off and twisted, bringing his staff round and simultaneously blocking both attacks. His weight pushed down, bringing the three weapons into a horizontal deadlock, staff bolted between the scythe heads in turn interlocked with each other's handles. As the demons tried to disentangle their blades, cancelling out each other's efforts, the upside-down vampire kicked aside an incoming blade, twisting and ducking, doing whatever it took on the impromptu platform to buy himself precious seconds…

----

Arson coughed up blood as a vicious blade cut into his side. Stumbling away from the unexpected blow the teleporting Sloth had dealt from the flank, the hybrid reached out for something to steady himself with. His searching hand found none other than the dancing pole of the stage as he clutched the wound, which wasn't anything he couldn't recover from, but that didn't stop it hurting like Hell. Hearing the demon behind him give a cry, he knew it was about to teleport again, and also knew he didn't have time left to catch it if it did.

Gritting bloodied teeth the teenager removed his arm from his side and hefted his blade. Pulling on the pole he forced himself to move, even as lacerated muscle screamed, swinging around the pole. Doing a 180, he brought his arm round in a wide arc and released the sword. Phoenix flew, burning edge searing through air and decapitating the weakened Sloth before it could warp. With a soft phew, Arson slumped to the ground.

As he lay face up on the ground, gasping from adrenaline and pain, a soft chime echoed through the room.

"I'm not home" Arson muttered, but it didn't ring again. Sitting up after a few more moment, he saw a blue shard of… Something, floating and glowing a couple of feet above the ground on the other side of the pole.

Intrigued by the object, the hybrid pulled himself up using the pole, wincing from his wound, and fetched Phoenix. Returning, he put away the swords and leaning down reached out curiously. As soon as his hand touched the artefact, it seemed to sink into his palm as if drawn there, and the room shimmered around him.

----

The familiar chaos of the secret realm swam into focus around Arson as his vision returned, or rather, there appeared something for it to see. Stepping from the faded portal, he saw Reiko across from him by his own.

"Hi Reiko" Arson greeted friendlily, waving, wincing, and waving with the other arm, "Did you win too?".

The vampire looked up, having been examining his hand. "Hey Arson, yeah I succeeded, you too I take it" he replied with a nod before noticing the teenager's bloody side. "Are you alright?" he asked with concern.

Arson looked at the gash as if embarrassed of it and nodded sheepishly, covering it with his arm. "Oh yeah, it'll be fine" he answered bashfully, hiding it from view.

Reiko was about to reply, when a bolt of lightning arced down the other portal, striking the ground with a bright flash that left Zone in its wake. "Aw, damn, I'm last" the hamster laughed by way of greeting them.

"Still, you made it, well done" Reiko replied sincerely, causing Zone to grin, albeit a slightly troubled one.

"Hehe, thanks, although, do you guys have any idea what this is?" the rodent replied. Putting his front paws together, he drew them apart again, and a blue light grew between them, a floating blue shard like Arson's appearing in it. Curiously the hybrid opened his own palm, and sure enough, his fragment materialised too.

"They're Blue Orb Fragments. Four make a whole which can store life energy and allow its user to survive more injuries than usual" Reiko explained, raising his hand above which floated his own glowing fragment.

At this instant the three spikes around them burst to life. Three bolts of energy shot forth, each flying to one of the fragments, making Reiko arch an eyebrow, Arson jump, and Zone squeak, and then curse his lack of composure. The signals relayed to the centre of the platform, where a fourth portal of pure energy emerged.

"… Also they allow us to progress, evidently" Reiko added after a pause, noticing he still had the fragment.

The others nodded. Having no other options they stepped into the light, experiencing a familiar distortion…

----

Out of the darkness, a tinny tune floated. It was grainy and tacky, as if being produced by a cheap jukebox.

"This, this isn't right" Reiko said as the darkness fled. What remained in its wake was a sight most bizarre.

They were standing in some kind of stone room, a hall, the ceiling high and the far end lost in the shadows.

What was bizarre however was not their surroundings, but their company, for at the far end, figures moved.

"They're, puppets?" Arson half-stated, half-asked. As they warily advanced it became evident he was right.

A seemingly sourceless light illuminated the room, but it didn't fully dispel the shadows, only drove them back, so that the scene was revealed to them slowly as they got closer. The moving figures were revealed to be Marionettes, life-sized wooden puppets in colourful yet dulled stage clothing. Almost invisible strings, only glimpsed if they caught the light, moved them around from above, seemingly originating from thin air.

This in itself wasn't too unnerving mind, as Marionettes were common enemies from Devil May Cry 1. A lowly form of possessing demon, they were still dangerous to the incautious, especially in larger numbers.

What was disturbing was they seemed to be giving the new arrivals a play, complete with rather tasteless music. As they watched with increasing anxiety, the actors went about their performance with awkward, jerky motions at the behest of the strings, moving to the mirthless tune. At this point a voice startled them.

"A hero seeks to play the strings of fate" the voice was thin and taught, reminiscent of the strings running the show. As it spoke, one puppet seemed to become the centre of attention among its peers, who motioned as if treating it with reverence and awe. "But destiny does not like to be messed with" the light in the room seemed to swell slowly, peeling back the darkness further to reveal a throne behind the theatrics. Also, the heroic puppet seemed to become snagged and entangled in invisible wires, the trap snaring it and lifting it slowly from the ground. "Each has a role to play and should they betray the story and seek to trespass from their duty…" the puppet audience seemed to have turned upon their hero, braying at it as it struggled before them. "The strings of fate will catch them" this last sentence was uttered harshly. As if on cue, the trapped puppet jerked up by its neck, wooden head lolling with sickening realism as it was publicly hung, executed.

"What the Hell is going on?" Zone asked with a tremble, considerably unnerved by this point. Arson and Reiko were similarly disconcerted. As if to answer the question, the shadows fully receded from the throne.

"Welcome to my theatre, little ones" the creature that sat there replied. It appeared to be a man, and that's exactly what it was, a thing that only appeared to be a man. Gaunt and pail, the being reclining before them had features too drawn, eyes too deep and hollow, and a complexion too pale, as if all the blood had been drained from its skin, to be a living human. It was dressed in an outrageous, pompous actor's uniform that was most likely intended for use by the most senior lord character in a play. Frilly beyond reason, it would have been colourful verging on the psychedelic, if the colours had not faded so, leaving a subdued rainbow.

"Who are you?" Reiko asked, and wondered why he did. The answer was never good, and they never got to socialise either, since the kind of person who they asked this was invariably far too busy trying to kill them.

The figure was watching them with idle interest from where it slouched lazily in its throne. Tapping its thin fingers together, which made a quiet wooden noise, it replied. "I am the Puppet Master. I see to it that each person in a story plays out their allotted role" it introduced with a contemptuous bow of the head. "And you are Reiko, Arson and Zone, insolent fools who believe they can steal the role of hero. You have defiled this story with your selfish heresy, and I am here to put an end to your disgraceful rebellion" it intoned darkly.

As if heeding their master's declaration the audience of puppets turn on the trio, drawing from their persons knives, sickles, and all manor of cruel weaponry. With their deceptively fast gait they advanced on the trio, who drew their own weapons and braced themselves. "Why isn't anyone ever here to ask us if we want to order a pizza?" Arson whined, rubbing his grumbling tummy. The puppets closed in, and the battle begun.

The two groups clashed, the trio being superior fighters individually, but at a significant disadvantage in terms of numbers. The Marionettes were dragged awkwardly by their strings, but also capable of surprising turns of speed, lunging forwards with their wicked blades to hack down their quarry. The trio stayed close together, keeping a tight formation and supporting each other as they threw back the press of enemies. Zone jumped away from a crescent blade and turned to snipe the head off of a puppet that had leapt onto Arson's back. The hybrid in turn threw off the decapitated toy, engaged several of the slow enemies, and severed a bunch of ethereal strings that suspended Reiko when a nearby puppet let out a haunting cry. Freed from the trap, the vampire laid into his opponents with calculated precision, using their awkward movements against them and breaking the arm of one aiming a shotgun at Zone, intent on reducing him to a furry smear. Reiko disarmed the puppet and turned its weapon on its comrades, blasting several back as he fired at close range.

They continued to battle through the crowd like this, experiencing several close calls, but their combined strength being enough to gradually overcome the low class demons. As they got closer to the throne, the Puppet Master watched without apparent concern. Eventually Arson got a break, and seeing an opportunity to put a swift end to the battle, he smashed aside a puppet, incidentally the one who had been hung earlier, its head still lolling alarmingly, and leapt towards the throne.

"Uh-uh-uh" it chided the airborne warrior. Lazily raising a hand as Arson tore towards him, it pointed it at him, and a split second later dark bands of energy shot forth from it. The hybrid was snatched out of his assault as they arrested him mid-flight, tying around his limbs as he struggled, while the Puppet Master shook his head disapprovingly. "You haven't forgotten your place, have you? Let me remind you" it said.

"Let, go of me!" Arson yelled, struggling with all his might, but the shadowy ropes were too strong. He was hoisted up higher, and then slammed down abruptly into the ground, hard. "Kneel before your master" the creature commanded as it forced Arson's body to rise and then bow to him, Reiko and Zone still trying to fight through the last few Marionettes between them and the throne. A moment later they broke through and rushed to his aid, Zone blasting off a couple of ropes as Reiko ripped the rest away with his bare hands.

The Puppet Master made no move to stop this, simply watching as if amused by the whole thing. It slowly lowered its hand as Arson was freed, glancing passed them to see the remnants of its army of Marionettes, a few remaining but their ranks decimated. Sighing in irritation, it regarded them, still slouched in its throne.

"An amusing show, I can see why she would find you a nuisance" the Puppet Master mused out loud. With a tired yawn, the creature slowly drew itself up, literally, rising from its seat as if pulled by strings. "Come then, you've had your fun, it's time to put an end to this charade" it said, standing up and beckoning them.

"She?" Reiko whispered, catching that detail, theorising that this being must be in the employ of Mary Sue.

"Do you ever shut up?" Zone complained, while Arson stayed silent, having experienced firsthand what this creature was capable of. In answer to this the Puppet Master simply opened its arms, goading them on.

They charged together, swords, staff and lightsabre swinging in a whirlwind of attacks. But not one blow connected as the Puppet Master swayed and dodged, pulled from the path of the blows by an unseen force, laughing at their inadequate attempts. "You think yourselves worthy heroes?" it mocked, shifting back out of reach of Reiko's staff. Raising his hand he unleashed a swarm of dark tendrils that quickly tangled with the stave, and as Reiko struggled to release it the Puppet Master reeled itself in and kicked him in the gut.

The vampire was sent flying from the platform around the throne through the remains of their earlier battle, and the black tentacles followed and surrounded him. Wrapping round the fallen bodies of the Marionettes, they picked one up each and began hurling them at the vampire, forcing him to block and dodge frantically.

"Hahaha, hop and jump and skip and dance, look how the false hero plays to the tune!" the Puppet Master cackled. Arson and Zone charged him, but even with one hand engaged bombarding Reiko, they weren't able to land a blow on the elusive creature. However after pushing it back a ways, it was distracted by an attack of Zone's, and Arson was able to lunge out and slash down on the shadows emerging from its hand. Dragon burned through and severed the sinews; suspended puppets failing limp around the relieved Reiko.

An irritated scowl passed over the Puppet Master's features. "Delinquent pest" it hissed, drawing its hands together and smacking both hybrid and hamster clear of the throne with a solid wall of shadow. Zone was send skipping and tumbling across the ground some way, whereas Arson rolled and leapt back at the thing. His venture was short-lived however, as a writhing mass of strings caught him and threw him into the wall, where the few intact puppets had been standing as an audience to the battle. Energy crackled around them and they surrounded the hybrid, obsidian tendrils spreading from them towards him as he struggled to rise.

"This guy is something else, albeit an annoying something else" Zone remarked as he struggled to stand up, He managed on the second attempt, wincing as he rose.

"He's certainly unlike anything we've encountered thus far" Reiko agreed, the vampire quite badly battered himself. Even the dragon they wore down over time, but they couldn't so much as touch the Puppet Master.

"Well, we won't beat him sitting here" Zone said, as much to remind his own body not to give in as to get Reiko to continue. The vampire was wary to just charge headlong at this enemy, not knowing how to beat it. But the best way to find one was to analyse him in battle, and the best way to do that was to engage him.

"You're right" Reiko agreed, and together they rushed towards the Puppet Master. It turned to them as they neared, laughing condescendingly, and again taunted them. The vampire and rodent tore at it with furious zeal, even working together occasionally as Zone shepherded it towards Reiko, or Reiko used his staff to give Zone a lift. But it was to no avail as the Puppet Master ducked and weaved, simply toying with them.

"You bore me" the creature announced suddenly. Raising its hands up, it formed a cloud of shadows that surrounded them both, binding them tightly all over. Shoving them back from the throne, it watched with glee as the dark constrictions manipulated their form. "A vampire and a hamster, let me show you how to act" it chuckled, and with several gestures Reiko was forced to stalk round in an extremely cliché undead manner, while Zone was made to mimic running on a wheel.

Unable to break the bindings, Reiko did the wise thing and called for help. "Arson, we need your…" he trailed off, as the hybrid went past him in a jerky conga line with the puppets, similarly forced to carry out the Puppet Master's deranged amusements.

"You will bleed from places as yet unknown to medical science for this!" the hamster screamed furiously.

"My what a temper, and hamsters are supposed to be such innocent things" the Puppet Master reprimanded. "Well, if you're not innocent, there is one more guilty thing hamsters are known for" it chuckled sinisterly. Zone stopped running, and was made to face Reiko, who was forced to kneel down facing away from him.

"Oh you sick fu-!" the rodent got no further as a strand wrapped around his muzzle, silencing his profane abuse. Though he strained with all his might, he was far from physically powerful and helpless as he was forced to step inexorably and painfully slowly towards a fate that… Doesn't bear mentioning the details of.

"Hahaha, what's the matter, not happy with your role?" the Puppet Master taunted, turning from the rodent and vampire as it let them contemplate the slowly approaching horror. Looking to Arson, it delighted itself in having the puppets play limbo, the hybrid being forced to walk face first into a bar lowered just for him.

Meanwhile, in the mind of Zone, something was snapping. He _despised_ this, being reduced to nothing but a mere ball of fur. It sickened him, and he would not accept it, refused to let what he was control _who_ he was.

And then it snapped, and he would stop at nothing. Zone strained against his bounds; strained so hard that muffled screams escaped from his bound muzzle, as his body was pushed past what it was made to endure, the pressure of his own exertions torturing him. The physiology of a hamster is a unique thing however, for as he relentlessly fought against his imprisonment, he eventually forced his own flexible form to shift at the limit of its versatility, through blinding agony. The change gave Zone enough leeway to strike out with his lightsabre, and in a flurry of swings he cut himself loose from the trap, gasping from exertion and anguish.

Sensing something was amiss, the Puppet Master turned, and its temper flared as it saw the insignificant rat had somehow freed itself. Zone's body was screaming in pain, but he crushed it beneath his will, refusing to succumb to it, and glared venomously at the Puppet Master. "I am not _just_ a hamster, I am Zone! I have dreams and the ambition to realise them, even if I might sometimes fail or screw up, because if I allow that fear to control my life, I may as well already be dead" he declared in fierce independence, defying his role.

The Puppet Master glowered at him with rising fury, the hamster's words blasphemy to it. "Your part is at an end, _rodent_" it hissed, refusing to acknowledge his name or identity as an individual. Placing its hands together, it sent forth a torrent of nightmarish vines rushing towards the rodent to crush the life from him.

"Bring it" Zone whispered so lowly it was doubtful that the challenge was heard. Raising his lightsabre he ran headfirst at the approaching swarm of living strings and dived headfirst into it, disappearing from sight.

"Hahaha, the scum was desperate to die" the Puppet Master cackled. However its laugher faded as crimson light flickered from within the seething shadows. Moments later, Zone burst through the mass, twisting and slashing, jumping from one line to the next and severing them, turning their own motions to his advantage.

"What's the matter, can't handle a simple hamster?" Zone taunted as he allowed one vine to catch him only to slash through it and use its own momentum to hurl himself past another tendril, cutting it as he passed it.

"Impetuous filth, you are nothing!" the Puppet Master screamed, its temper flaring. It directed more and more tentacles after the rodent, but no matter how many it used it couldn't seem to catch him. Zone was using their own movements to aid his attacks, countering the shadows by turning them against themselves.

"Come on, I thought I was just a _rodent_!" Zone challenged as he raced through the moving maze. He was fighting without restraint and without fear now, abandoning his concern for risk and turning everything to his advantage. Though the Puppet Master threw more and more strings at him, Reiko and Arson eventually being released as it focused completely on Zone, it could not trap him. It had never faced a victim like this before, one who rather than resisting its strings, used them, and was completely at a loss for a way to adapt.

"Perish you vermin!" it eventually screamed, its composure shattering as it threw everything it had at Zone, wanting to drag him in and crush him in its bare hands. An uncountable number of dark tendons completely covered the rodent and with manic glee the Puppet Master drew rapidly the mass in. As it got closer though a thick beam of light erupted from the far side, bursting the bubble of shadow and sending Zone cannoning forwards, the momentum of being pulled in combined with that of firing his laser. In the blink of an eye he tore through the space between him and the disbelieving being, lightsabre raised, and crashed into its body.

"This, isn't how…" the Puppet Master gasped. Zone landed on the seat of the throne behind it, spinning his lightsabre and deactivating it. Behind him, the Puppet Master stumbled, a hole torn clean through its torso where Zone had hit lightsabre-first, moving so fast that he had torn right through the physically frail being. The resistance absorbed most of his inertia so that he landed safely on the throne, although he hadn't even considered such a thing at a time, having been totally focused only on achieving his sole ambition; victory.

With a piercing screech the Puppet Master flailed and writhed, countless of the dark strings seething out of the wound. They continued to emerge and eventually in an explosion of shadows, the creature ripped itself apart from the inside, the remains dissipating into the air, leaving Zone standing triumphant on the throne.

Turning his head, the rodent saw Reiko and Arson staring at him, and it occurred to him then that he could stay where he was. He could make them come to him, before him on the throne, he had earned it, the pain that lingered in him reminding him of that as his drive faded.

But he didn't. Instead he silently jumped down and walked over to them slowly, at their feet, rather than them at his. Looking up like he always had to, he let go of the single-mindedness that fuelled him beyond the threshold of suffering that would normally break him, and spoke. "I'm sorry…" he whispered quietly.

They looked at him blankly, not understanding what he meant. "Sorry for what?" Reiko asked eventually.

Zone sighed, but smiled, "I'm sorry for every time I do something to hurt or annoy either of you, and don't apologise. I'm often worried that a mistake weakens me enough, and if I expose myself to admit that error, it will only weaken me even more. I want you to know, even if I don't say so, I regret it, every single time".

The silence that followed was interrupted by a pillar of energy coalescing before the throne. They turned to look at it, sense of relief passing over them. Arson looked back to Zone, who was struggling to stay upright, and leaned down. "Apology accepted, friend" he said smiling, offering a hand, which the rodent gratefully climbed into. Lifting him onto his shoulder to let him recover, the hybrid stood, Reiko moving besides him and giving Zone a pat on the back, silently echoing Arson's sentiments. Together, they entered the portal…


	25. We Submerge Through Darkness

_**Author's Notes:** I'm sorry about the huge delay on this one, it's been madness trying to find time to write without turning it into some kind of chore, an exam yesterday, a presentation today, and so on and such. The last chapter was somewhat rushed as an attempt to stop myself falling behind, some traits of which Sin pointed out. I've tried to reconcile the shortcomings this chapter without dwelling on it for too long and rather integrate it into the story, I hope that works out well. This is another long chapter and also fairly serious like the last, although there's some more humour present. I realise humour is a big part of Original Crisis and all, but it's not the only element to it, and there are some serious underlying themes; the main characters are not gimmicks, no, not even Zone XP. This is far from the deepest, most epic material and it's not intended to be, but I hope people see the part it plays in the story as a whole. In any case, chapter 26 was due yesterday, and I'll try and do that ASAP. Meanwhile, enjoy :D!  
_----  
The familiar insanity of the void surrounded them as Arson, Reiko and Zone were returned to the floating platform. New elemental portals burst into life around them, but they hardly even registered it, still weary from their previous battle with the Puppet Master, Zone most of all.

Arson turned his head to look at the rodent, who was lying flat on his underside on the hybrid's shoulder. "Can you walk by yourself alright?" he asked him with innocent concern.

Zone groaned, and tested the theory by sitting up; he winced but nodded anyway, "Ugh, yeah sure, thanks".

Arson nodded in return and gently scooped up the drained hamster and set him down on the floor. Zone hopped off his hand, and stumbled as soon as he hit the floor, going onto all fours. "Are you sure you're OK Zone?" Reiko asked with palpable worry, but the rodent shakily stood and nodded.

"Sure I am" he answered almost automatically, hesitating and then looking at them sheepishly. "Just give me a couple of minutes?" he half-coughed. He was embarrassed to have to ask for it, but he could feel his muscles quivering under his fur even as he stood there. He needed time to recover before they moved on.

"Of course" Reiko replied. "We can use the time to analyse the next missions" he added after a moment, both truthfully and so the rodent wouldn't feel he was slowing them down.

"OK… Thanks" Zone replied with a quick grin, not lingering since he _seriously needed_ a break to recover.

Arson pulled out the guide and opened it, Reiko watching as he flicked through the pages, and then looking over it with him. Meanwhile, Zone wandered towards the edge of the large platform, wanting a little space as well as time to recuperate.

Staring into the twisting void, he exhaled, and gently slumped onto his rear. His tender, fragile body ached from exertion, and he finally allowed the various pains banging at the door of his attention to collect their dues. "Ow! Owy, ow… Ow" muffled complaints slipped out of his clenched muzzle.

After a while the aches slowly started to dull, and the rodent's mind wandered through what had happened before, when he had no had time to think, no time to contemplate, only time to act, or die. He remembered how much his every fibre burned with the strain of constant harsh movement, that burning athletes speak of where each motion sears the senses, but you mustn't let it stall you, you have to ignore it and keep pushing.

Still, that didn't stop it hurting, then or now. He wondered how long he could have kept going, and though he hated giving up, the hamster quietly admitted to himself the answer was probably not much longer at all.

Luckily, oh so fortunately, it had been enough. His small, agile form making him a hard target to catch, his lightsabre being adept at cutting the shadowy strings, and him driving and forcing himself not to flinch or hesitate, even though every time he braced or leapt his muscles burned. All these had helped him succeed.

In the end though, they hadn't been the difference maker.

Rather than resisting the strings, he'd _used_ them, turned them to his advantage, employing them as footing to stand on and their motions to lend momentum to his own movements and attacks. That had both stumped the dark manipulator, leaving it struggling to catch him, and frustrated it. It had seen many victims that ran from its entrapment, and even more that fought against it, but never before one that worked _with_ its strings.

Being made to look inept by a rodent, combined with Zone's taunts, it had become more and more enraged until it lost its temper, and with it its control. Control was the source of its strength, but instead of trying to win through crafty manoeuvring, it attempted to crush him with brute force. Doing so, and blindly throwing all its strings at him had left it vulnerable, nothing remaining to defend itself, and Zone had acted. Without its powers of manipulation, the Puppet Master was defenceless, as frail and weak as a common Marionette.

In the end, it was his ambition that pushed him beyond fear or doubt of failure; that drive to give all he had without worry or hesitation. Thus unfettered, he was granted the focus and clarity to find a path to victory.

"Lucky break" the hamster chuckled, allowing himself a smug smirk for having outwitted the manipulating creature. He knew it seemed cliché, but he didn't care. Ambition was the core of his being, and he truly had fought with _all_ that he could. It was far from the deepest or most powerful of drives, but it was who he was.

Anyway, he reasoned to himself as he stood up to head back to the others, feeling more balanced; he'd won by playing its own game, fighting back with manipulation and control of his own, challenging it on its own turf. That was a decent enough victory, he thought, although at the back of his mind another worry lurked. Their battle was far from over, and that last fight had been _too close_ for comfort…

----

Arson found himself in a tall room he didn't recognise; vaguely square with some stairs tailing around to a door from one corner. Filling up middle of the room was a large flat elevator with four steel pillars, one in each corner. In one corner on a wall was an arcane dial.

Walking to stand before it, Arson drew his swords. Holding them on his head like horns, he scraped his feet against the ground, snorted, and some bullfighting music played. He charged the dial with a loud "Ariba!".

The business, pointy ends of the swords struck the device, and the top spoke illuminated with a faint ruby flame. Seeing red the hybrid slammed forwards again, head-butting the unfortunate switch into submission.

A low rumbling filled the room as the last light flickered on, and Arson turned to see the elevator rise about a foot as the gears around it ground to life. Dropping the bull act he ran over and clambered on before it left without him. Once aboard he looked up to see the long shaft above him, a glimmering blue speck at its top.

He was still looking up when the Hell Prides jumped down from the shadows, the transformed creatures with malevolent purple auras surrounding him. Swords still in his hands from earlier Arson raised them, knowing he had to eliminate them quickly otherwise more would come and quickly overload the elevator.

Rushing at the nearest one as it landed, he cut into it with several rapid slashes. The enhanced demon was neither very damaged or moved by the assault, but it did stagger it long enough for Arson to swing Dragon and Phoenix round in a heavy dual-arc, hurling the demon from the platform. He spun round and caught an incoming blade with both of his own, buckling under the blow. Rolling back under the pressure, he planted his feet on the demon's chest and flipped it over the edge behind him, jumping back up in one fluid motion.

The remaining two demons made Arson dodge several scythe swings before lunging forwards, dropkicking one Pride in its mask hard enough to shove it off the edge. Landing himself, Arson yelped and clutched his foot, hobbling and squeaking "Ouch!" over and over from kicking the reinforced demon so hard. Hopping about, he unorthodoxly evaded scythe slashes from the remaining demon as more descended from above…

----

The Bullseye Bar was the location Reiko was deposited in by the lightning portal. Looking around briefly, he heaved the sigh of a man who was about to do something he had to do, but still objected to on principle.

"So uncivilised" the vampire sighed as he drew his staff out and shattered a table into splinters, kicking the seat besides it into two barrels in front of a door, breaking all three objects. Bulldozing his way through the barstools, he jumped atop the cover of the bar itself and pulverised another three barrels there into splinters.

"Do people actually enjoy the mindless destruction of inanimate objects?" he wondered this out loud while hopping off the side and stomping through another two barrels. He had originally suggested Zone take this mission as he thought he was best suited to uninhibited carnage. Much to his surprise however the hamster had declined, saying that he'd prefer a slower mission if there was one to get his breath back, also pointing out that clearing the bar out against the clock could cost him a fair bit of his precious laser energy reserves.

Reiko had been so stunned to hear both humility and clear-headedness from the rodent he'd just nodded and pointed to the fire portal. It wasn't until Zone had left that Reiko realised that left him with this job.

"Why is it that when he shows some maturity I end up smashing things like an infant throwing a tantrum?" Reiko brooded rhetorically as he smashed a row of bottles against the back of their shelf. Bringing back the staff to destroy the row above, he swung it round with blinding speed and inertia… And suddenly stopped.

Lowering his weapon, Reiko reached out and delicately plucked a certain bottle from the shelf. Examining the label with great scrutiny he hummed thoughtfully, then quickly took the cap off and took a swig from it.

"Exquisite year" the vampire said after swilling and swallowing the liquid. He wasn't heavily into alcohol, but he was cultured enough to appreciate a fine wine. Heaving a sigh mixed with resignation, longing and regret, he hurled the valuable bottle over his shoulder, where it smashed into the bar's jukebox. A haunting symphony that had no right being among the listed tracks began to play as Reiko resumed his demolition…

----

The first thing Zone experienced after the warmth of the portal withered away, was insult. Specifically, his sense of smell was grievously offended.

"It's worse than Hade's laundry basket" the rodent choked out. In his personal range of odour-related condemnations, there was no more cardinal damnation. There is no eloquent rendition of words that truly captured how monstrously it reeked, so we'll just say it really, _really stunk_.

Blinking back tears, Zone looked around the cavernous insides of the Leviathan. The scenery was hardly picturesque; a mix of mutant flesh and the beast's last lunch. He even spotted their plane in the distance.

"Clock's ticking" he reminded himself, and swallowing the temptation to gag, he looked up. Numerous Red Orbs hung about the place, and he had to collect them all, fast. Heaving an irritated sigh, he realised the only way he'd do this in time would cost a lot of his energy reserves. But he didn't hesitate, as there wasn't any use saving it for something he'd never reach, which he wouldn't if he didn't get past this first.

Aiming his laser at the ground, he deactivated the recoil control and fired, the unsuppressed blast launching his light body upwards. Rising towards some of the Orbs, he maximised the charging port, and as they were want to do, the precious spheres were drawn in.

As his ascent topped out, Zone fired again, shooting himself to the side and collecting a line of more Red Orbs. He was regretting how much energy this was costing him, as without his stored power he was a lot less capable, when his trajectory took him past a White Orb.

"Holy crap!" the exclamation left Zone's lips almost on reflex. The gauge had just increased _massively_, and considering the total capacity of the weapon was the equivalent of 10,000 Red Orbs, that was no mean feat.

"Hehe, or unholy crap" he corrected himself as he spun and fired again to follow a change of direction in the path of Orbs. Sure enough, the next time he passed and collected a White Orb, the increase in power was monumental, completely recharging his weapon. Devil Trigger energy, apparently vastly more potent than common Red Orbs, that was what had done it. Suddenly a lot more optimistic, the delighted tyrant blasted himself around the creature's insides like a hyper furry pinball bouncing off of invisible bumpers…

----

Zone returned first, shortly followed by Reiko, and a little later Arson. While exchanging small talk they used the Fragments like last time and another energy portal appeared, around which they then gathered.

"Well, are we all prepared?" Reiko asked, wary of rushing ahead, considering what happened the last time.

"Sure am" Zone replied confidently, fondly holding his fully charged laser. "And you just know it won't be for nothing, because there's _bound_ to be another boss to slow us down" the rodent added in a cynical tone.

"The second major boss always gets a rough crowd. Everyone remembers Phantom and Cerberus fondly, but Griffon or Agni and Rudra? _Noooo_" Arson commented, rather fond of the twin swords of fire and air.

The familiar awkward silence began to settle. However, Zone was damned if it would get any more script time, it was nearly a main character as it was. So he cut it off, "Given this alternative I pick the killer boss".

"Heeey, I'm allowed to have a critical opinion" Arson pouted resentfully. The hybrid had in fact written a highly detailed thesis on the success of the series. It was called the Pizza Popularity Corollary, and it stated that the success of an instalment of the Devil May Cry series could be directly extrapolated from the level of pizza involved in the game. As evidence it cited DMC1, where pizza played a minor role; the game was a smash hit. DMC2 featured no pizza and thus was left to wallow in mediocrity, while DMC3 prominently featured pizza in the opening and was massively successful. Arson was planning to submit his thesis online.

"Whatever awaits us can't be avoided, so if we can't prepare for it any further, we might as well proceed" the voice of reason, Reiko, suggested, to the approval of the others.

"Here comes the dramatic and painstakingly described scenery" Zone predicted as they entered the portal…

----

The dark shroud swept back like velvet curtains of richest violet, in its wake revealing large square tiles, alternatively marble white and obsidian black. The receding shadows also exposed the void behind them.

"… That was refreshingly moderate" Arson observed, while Zone irritably flipped off the above paragraph.

They were standing on the edge of, whatever they were standing on, a very blunt nothingness behind them. The chequered surface on the other three sides was being slowly unveiled by the dark, which appeared to move as a tangible thing, rather than a mere absence of light. Then again, they were used to such oddities.

"Hey, what's that?" Arson asked, shapes slowly becoming apparent as the shadows swept back over them.

"I don't know, but I bet you a fiver we're going to be treated to a monologue any moment now. Reiko, up for a friendly wager?" the hamster inquired hopefully.

The vampire eyed him suspiciously. "… No, your tyrannical interests give you an advantage" he declined.

"Damn it, what use is knowing this stuff if I can't con people with it?" Zone quipped with an unashamedly mischievous smirk. "OK, Arson, wanna make an easy fiver?" Zone turned to try and dupe the naive hybrid.

Before Arson could answer him, a loud thumping, slamming sound resonated from in front of them, cutting him off. From out of the shadows emerged large stone statues of abstractly carved soldiers, crossed swords held before their chests. They moved with surreal bounds, lifting up and moving forwards before slamming down again, as though picked up by an unseen hand. Among the learned, they were called Damned Pawns.

"Like mindless sheep, they move as pawns, rushing onwards in a desperate bid to ascend to greatness" a deep voice resonated all around them, like a million echoes.

As it did the Pawns advanced, ranks and files of stony legionaries moving forwards with methodical paces, following the pattern of tiles. They took only moments to reach the trio, who readied themselves for attack.

However as the pieces advanced, they did not draw their heavy blades. Rather they just lumbered on. Reiko and Arson forced to squeeze and dart between them to avoid being carried away. Zone just stood on a line between two tiles and watched them march past. "Told you so" he referred to the mysterious voice's dialog.

"So single-mindedly do they charge on to meet their end, their fate their destiny. They are obsessive over it. Blindly they rush to embrace their conclusion, only to meet with silent oblivion" as the one-sided discourse continued, the Pawns marched onwards, straight off the edge of what was by now obviously a chess board. Crossing the precipice they plummeted without hesitation or complaint into the featureless nothing beyond.

"I don't think they're coming back" Arson remarked as the last of the Chessmen disappeared over the edge, tumbling into a shadowy abyss that offered no promise of escape.

"They're not" the voice answered, and as it did its owner drifted into view. "Nothing ever does, all light is only a temporary flicker before the final extinguishments" the speaker with the disembodied voice seemed to have gotten a matching disembodied body. The floating apparition started at the waist, where an outline suggested a spine under the flowing black cloaks that wrapped its concealed torso. At its sides arms were apparent but similarly shrouded, although one hand with almost claw-like spindly fingers was evident as it was held in front of the creature. Its face was ghostly white and appeared faintly female, traces of the same gender evident in its voice, although both were obscured behind a pervading inhumanness. Contrasting the pale complexion was the black blindfold tied over the being's eyes, matching its other attire and long hair.

"So do you have a name at all, or are you too disposable for one?" Zone asked with a condescending tone.

In answer the creature laughed, a hollowly amused sound. "_Disposable_?" she repeated, "You know nothing of _disposable_. If you crave a name, however briefly it will last, then you may know me as, The Blind Seer".

Arson was the next to speak. "How comes you threw away all your toys?" he asked, referring to the Pawns.

"They were disposable" the Blind Seer replied. "They could not stop anyone who came this far, none who defeated the Puppet Master would yield to such a challenge. I just made their march to destruction swifter".

Reiko was regarding the creature warily. Something about someone who would throw away their minions, especially knowing that their opponents had already defeated one of their allies, provoked both intrigue and caution in the vampire. "How do you know about our victory over the Puppet Master?" he asked curiously.

Another soulless laugh, "I can see everything; the truth behind each moment as it expires meaninglessly".

"I bet you can't see shit with that blindfold on" Zone retorted cockily. "Just how many of you throwaway villains are there anyway? And why do you never all attack the heroes at once?" he asked contemptuously.

"You're mistaken, Zone" the Blind Seer said, it going unnoticed by none present that she knew his name, despite no one having used it. "What I see is how everything is… Darkness. Tranquil oblivion; everything else is temporary, just an insubstantial illusion before the inevitable finality. But to answer your questions, we do not attack together because we are not truly allied. We merely serve a common goal under Mary Sue, but our own alignments are not entirely compatible. The Puppet Master manipulated, that was its nature, to control the story… My nature is the end of the story, the eternal silence when there are no words remaining, no actions, nothing… As for the third of us, you'll meet him, if you don't die here" came the lengthy reply.

"Why are you telling us all this, why not just attack?" Reiko asked, suspicious of some ploy on her behalf.

"Because it does not matter. What happens is irrelevant, the result unchanging. Dark, silent, nothing… That is what awaits us all. What you know, how we fight, and who is victorious… Changes nothing, you are still descending moment by moment towards the end. _That_ is fate, that… Is destiny" the Blind Seer prophesised.

"So we can attack? Only you're boring me to tears" the hamster asked with a theatrical yawn of impatience.

"Very well, if you so wish to meet your ends" she replied. Raising one pail claw-like hand, she clutched it as if holding an orb. A dizzying sense of distortion rippled outwards, and with mind-bending liquidity, the giant floating chessboard warped itself into a giant floating sphere. Arson, Reiko and Zone wobbled out of instinct to maintain balance, but were perplexed to see each other standing normally, apparently at an angle.

"OK, what the Hell?" Zone asked Reiko, who was leaning 15 degrees away from him, yet totally balanced.

"This is pretty trippy" Arson opined as he experimentally walked in a straight line. He found that although the curve was constant, he completely failed to fall off.

"The gravity must draw towards the centre from all sides, like a tiny planet" Reiko surmised thoughtfully.

"This is the world as it really is. Go wherever; you get nowhere. But I understand you were tired of truth, and wished to resort to violence" the Blind Seer taunted, floating down onto the sphere from above them.

Although she did not touch it per say, as she came to her normal floating height, her shadow spread out over the rounded surface. Like an illness, the shadowy stain swept across the globe, turning it pitch black.

As the infection swept under the trio's feet, they tensed reflexively, but it seemed to have only a cosmetic effect. "If you're done refurbishing, I'm gonna kill you now" he said sarcastically, tired of all the dialogue with nothing to back it up. Twirling his energy sword, he charged at the Seer, who simply waited for him.

Arson and Reiko glanced at each other, the hybrid shrugging, and hefting his swords he followed the rodent in rushing the enemy. "Something is amiss…" Reiko muttered, but he followed too, albeit more cautiously.

As Zone reached the Seer at his rapid, but understandably limited over long distances pace, he leapt up and slashed out violently. The shining blade parted darkness, and met no resistance as he sailed right through her location. Only, he heard that hollow laugh, and twisted to see the Seer twisting away, a faintly glowing tear in her insubstantial robes repairing itself.

He landed dextrously and was going to try again when out of the corner of his vision he spied a movement. Focusing on it, the rodent was bewildered to see what for all the world looked like a shadowy apparition of, himself. The shadow seemed to be reliving the actions he'd just performed, and he turned and swiftly raised his blade as he realised its weapon was coming straight for him. Lightsabre and its dark twin met, but rather than a fierce collision, the latter passed right through the former. "What the-" Zone uttered, as the shadow swept through him, dissipating as a cold spasm wracked him, dropping him onto all fours, gasping for air.

Arson was unaware of this development, too concentrated on his own attack. Roaring down from above wielding twin trailing tails of fire, he plunged towards the Seer. However without even turning to face him, aware of his presence but some altogether more mysterious means than sight, she evaded as if swept away by the wind. The teenager landed nimbly on his hands and knees, and looked up at her, wafting before him.

He had half-risen when from above him something dark came soaring down. Turning around, Arson only just recognised it as some dark reflection of itself as he braced himself to block the doppelganger, lacking sufficient time to evade. But again, trailing dark flames, the mirror warrior washed right through its parent, as it were, eliciting an almost shrill cry from the hybrid, who staggered as if shot, barely staying on his feet.

"It's a harrowing feeling, isn't it? The sensation of your own actions slowly sapping you of life. No matter how strong your spirit, each choice, each deed you perform siphons a little of you into the vastness of time" these words came from the Blind Seer, who was watching the rodent and teenager suffer with a withered corpse of true amusement. "You can only do so much before all your potential is exhausted, and nothing remains in you to give… Not without repeating yourself and becoming trapped… Or abandoning your own character" she lectured, making no move to capitalise on their vulnerability as they rose, drained but alive.

Suddenly the Seer swept to the side, a blur of metal passing through the space where her head had been a moment before. She gave a contemptuous chuckle, but Reiko, her assailant, had hung back and observed carefully. Thus it was that he ducked and rolled away, a vampiric shadow brushing past him, repeating his own motions and narrowly missing him. He followed his momentum through and quickly rolled to his feet.

"So you're not all _completely_ blind" the Seer remarked, turning to face him, though she had no eyes to see.

"So, you turn the shadows of our actions against us" the vampire replied, facing off with her motionlessly.

"I simply… Reveal the truth. Life… Such a vicious thing. Each breath you draw is another moment stolen from you… Until you drown in your own existence" she replied, the two in a standoff of mental prowess.

"So, it's as simple as that is it?" Zone cut in, having shaken off the effects of his encounter with his darker self. He approached her from behind, though she made no move to acknowledge him. The rodent wasn't phased though, in fact he seemed oddly confident, "If it's as simple as facing the vastness of the world in contention with your own comparative minuteness, hah, I've been doing that since _birth_" he added boldly.

Arson was now with them too, standing on one of her sides, the three loosely surrounding her, although she only faced the vampire. "Your friend thinks he knows the solution… What do you think Reiko?" she asked.

Reiko regarded her shrewdly, noticing angered noises coming from Zone at being passed over. "I think… It's not the whole answer" he answered back eventually.

"How comes you're not attacking us?" Arson inquired, thrown off by an opponent who didn't well, oppose.

"I told you before, absolute oblivion is inevitable for all, you cannot escape it. In comparison to the endless infinite that will engulf and smother you, why rush over mere moments?" she answered without facing him.

"Ah, so, you still want us dead… I don't know if I should be reassured by that" the hybrid muttered quietly.

"Look, as a tyrant I appreciate a good dialogue, but you really need to earn it" Zone quipped impatiently, and to add injury to insult, he attacked the Seer again.

"Zone, a direct attack will not work" Reiko warned, seeing a smirk cross the Seer's face, her only reaction.

"Neither will a debate class, it's worth a shot" the hamster replied, jumping up and slashing out at the Seer.

She moved like before, evading the lightsabre, which did nothing but tear through her shadowy robes. Zone turned as she did and fired off a laser blast, but again she dodged. Landing, he turned and saw his shadow descending on him, and bracing himself, he slashed up at it, body and mind retaliating against the impostor. The shadow passed through him as before, and he felt its touch chill his very soul, but he gritted his teeth and contested the cold with his burning will. When the apparition had faded he was left, gasping, shivering, but standing. "Haha, told y-you so" he said to Reiko with a slight quiver in his voice, grinning confidently.

He was still smirking a moment later when a beam of pure darkness engulfed him. "So you can endure the death of one moment, minutely impressive… But how will you fare against the eternity of them awaiting you?" the Blind Seer's voice mocked as the beam, a shadow of his own attack on her, faded, leaving in its wake Zone, shaking violently. Even though he'd fought it, it took something deep within him to resist that tormenting dark iciness; he could do it, but not indefinitely. With an anguished cry he sagged onto his front.

"Damn it, Zone" Reiko cursed, not for his rashness but out of concern for the rodent. His sharp eyes could see he was still breathing though, and he stayed Arson with a gesture as the hybrid moved to try and help. "Treat the disease not the symptoms" he advised, and reluctant but understanding, Arson kept his guard up.

"So what now… Reiko? How will you try to prevent the inevitable from occurring, next?" the Seer goaded.

"Arson, a direct attack won't work, maybe we can avoid the shadows" Reiko suggested. Arson nodded, and together they charged at the Seer, Zone still out of commission. Their weapons slashed and swung, and she swept and dodged, eluding their grasp, their own shadows chasing them. The vampire and hybrid reacted to this, though; avoiding their copies and fighting so they didn't trap themselves, chasing her back effectively.

For a moment hope of victory alighted upon their souls. But it was swiftly dashed as the Blind Seer swept back and raised her hands, "You fools… When will you realise? You can no more run from the inevitable than you can fight it… Even if you can survive in the moment, that is _nothing_ to all of eternity, accept it!".

As she cried this, a billowing blackness sprang forth form her hands and swallowed both of them. They felt nothing, but from the indistinct mist, numerous shapes began to emerge, familiar shapes. Their own shapes.

Arson, who had been closer at the time, found himself besieged on all sides by, himself, countless shadow Arsons closing in on the hybrid. As they drew in it became apparent to him that they were each carrying out some action he himself had at a point in his life, recognising a few memorable ones. He backed away a bit, but there was nowhere to back away too, he was surrounded, "Uh Reiko sir, what now?" he asked unsurely.

Before Reiko could answer though, Arson was beset on all sides by attackers. The vampire's first instinct was to rush to his aid, but reasoning stayed him; if he did they would both might have to contend with each other's shadows as well as their own. Backing away warily from the advancing smog, he looked over to see Zone fighting his own demons, the hamster lunging straight through one doppelganger with a cry mixed of pain and determination. He staggered and gasped raggedly, but still lifted his weary body to throw it against the next spectral assault. Reiko admired his resolve, but it was not yielding a solution, only delaying defeat.

Turning back, he saw Arson battling with countless dark reflections of himself. The hybrid was excellent in combat. But he was also massively outnumbered, and every action he took only fed his enemy, the teenager being whipped and torn around, stumbling and struggling to stay upright each time a shadow to caught him.

Looking back at the Blind Seer he retreated further away as the deadly smoke-like darkness spread out. But there was nowhere to run, they were fighting on a globe, it would catch him eventually. It was inevitable…

The icy chill of despair began to claw through Reiko's mind, trying to render his composure brittle, that it would shatter under the pressure. He looked to the others, and what filled him was more than the regret of failure, but a corroding sense that he was letting them down. He was the voice of reason, the guiding hand, the one that took responsibility for almost all of their decisions, even if mutually reached. It was a quiet and unappreciated role, he knew, not glorious and often overlooked, but if one were to look closely, they would see the vital, near-silent part he played. If it wasn't for him, this venture would never have begun, and while they had each done their part in getting this far, it was so often his insights or decisions which set their path.

It was a quiet role, not glorious and often unappreciated, and Reiko asked for no more. But even if it was silent, the others relied on him, _trusted him_, with that responsibility; a trust he was betraying now, as they struggled to survive. They counted on him; even if they wouldn't admit or didn't even realise it, they were.

_Accept it_, the Seer's last words rung in his mind as it searched for light in the darkness; the guide could not become lost, or they all were. "Accept it.." he whispered in thought… And then he knew what he had to do.

Walking forwards, the darkness enveloped him, and he made no move to escape it, entering willingly. Soon enough he was beset on all sides by clones of himself, but his stride did not falter as they closed in. Lashing out, the shadows Reikos wracked his body with punch, kick and staff, inflicting on him every violent action he had perpetrated in his long existence. But still he walked on, the creatures having no physical presence, though each touch would rend his soul with an agonising emptiness. But still, the vampire would not yield.

Step by step, he came to see the Seer through the crowd torturing him. She too saw him, and looked at him curiously. "Why prolong your suffering, why not simply give in?" she asked, perplexed by his behaviour.

"Because" his ragged response came, voice haggard with the torment inflicted upon him, "I have people, who are, depending, on me… I refuse to abandon them".

She seemed amused by this, but was forced nonetheless to reckon with him as he continued to stride toward her. "What a persistent delusion… Fighting for something that will crumble to dust sooner or later anyway" she intoned, "I'll show you the dying of the world, then, maybe then you will realise your ultimate futility".

As she said this, the Blind Seer sunk towards the obsidian surface of the giant orb they stood upon. With a watery ripple, she submerged right through it, the last thing visible, her face, wearing a dryly-amused smile.

Gritting his teeth, Reiko followed her, forcing himself to the still-fluctuating point and stepping into it. In an instant, he was consumed by complete darkness, a constant void that clawed through him, trying to suck everything he was out into it and disperse him into oblivion. The anguish was indescribable, and Reiko was clenching his jaw so hard blood was dripping from between his lips.

Convulsions wracked his body as he sank deeper, his muscles rigid with agony to the point where his bones ached under the strain. Madness feasted upon his mind, trying to tear it into the shreds of insanity with the overwhelming pain he was experiencing, and yet he held out with everything he had, everything he was. It didn't matter, he told himself, didn't matter, how much he suffered, or whether he died. All he knew, was that there were causes, and people, worth fighting for to him, and so his last shred of will, he would fight…

Eventually, after what could have been seconds or millennium, pain robbing the mind of senses, she came into view. The Blind Seer seemed to be expecting him, but not for him to be expecting her. Rather, she had anticipated a broken spirit, but while his mind was flayed and in tatters, he still clung to the reason he had followed her. The reason he had suffered so much. "Your self-delusion knows no bounds" she said as the vampire hung above her. If she could escape she made no move to, just staring at him with unseeing eyes.

Reiko responded by raising his staff, each inch his own body moved violating him with wracking pain. He lifted it though, fraction by murderous fraction, poising it above her. The Blind Seer remained motionless, and continued to do so as with a primal cry from something deep inside the vampire, he thrust it forwards.

"This changes nothing" the Seer said as the pole stabbed through her blindfold, sinking past it into her body without any resistance. "My death is inconsequential… All, that you fight for… Shall perish" her voice was strained as incandescent light began to pour out around the edges of the wound, but at the same time, calm, free of rage or fear, as though she were resigned to her demise.

"_I accept that_" was the vampire's reply, strained through clenched teeth. Slowly the light spread, fractures crawling from her face and starting to spread to the darkness around them. Eventually her entire body was consumed by light, which expanded outwards in a silent explosion, turning the sphere into a blazing star…

----

They awoke, all of them, on the familiar platform, suspended in the void, surrounded by four stone talons.

Arson was the first to rise, albeit shakily. Looking about, he spotted Zone nearby, and moving over to him, ever so carefully prodded the downed rodent. "Hey Zone, you alright?" he whispered with audible concern.

Eventually, the hamster groaned, "I feel I am owed a _lot_ of alcohol, cus this is the _mother_ of all hangovers".

Arson grinned, wincing empathically as his own body registered its complaints. He didn't know what had happened; one minute they were fighting the implacable hordes of shadows, and the next moment light, and then, here they were. He could still feel the chilling touch lingering in him, but it was not a physical pain, rather, one of the spirit, so he was able to move. Hauling himself to his feet he looked around for Reiko. He saw him some distance away, and hurried over to find that, while physically fine, his expression spoke of immeasurable pain. "Reiko, are you OK?" he asked with a worried whimper, dropping down besides him.

Slowly the vampire's eyes opened. "Arson… Are you OK?" he asked, to which he got a hesitant nod, the hybrid drained, but nothing he couldn't recover from given time. "What… About Zone?" Reiko asked, the effort of talking tangibly testing him. Arson looked over to see the rodent unsteadily rising, and nodded to Reiko. "Then, I'm, fine" the vampire replied, and for a while he just, lay there, unusually glad to be alive…


	26. Ever Closer To Hell

_**Author's Notes:** OK well I finished this yesterday, but fanfiction was being dumb and wouldn't upload the document. I'm about two chapters behind schedule now, but, on the bright side, this is my last week of university before Christmas, so I'll soon have time to catch up :D. I know this is taking on more serious tones, but it is approaching the final climax, also for those wondering why the bad guys don't all gang up at once, I hope I got that here, but they're not exactly best of friends, hehe. Anyway, enjoy :).  
_----  
Several minutes had passed since their last battle, and the trio were still where last we left them, in the void.

"Hey Reiko?" Zone broke the silence, having moved over to the vampire, who was still lying on the ground and recovering from their last battle.

"Yes Zone?" he replied, turning his head a bit to the side to look at him.

"Do you think… We really have a chance?" the rodent was sat a couple of feet from his side, sitting back a little, also recuperating from their previous encounter, though it had taken less out of him than the vampire.

"A chance to what?" Reiko asked in return, mind still somewhat hazy.

"You know, a chance to beat her. Do you think we have _any_ hope?" Zone said, looking up at him earnestly.

Reiko hesitated to answer, his eyes drifting to look straight up again, the chaotic dance of colour and form-defying pattern around them soothing, to a relaxed mind. "I don't truly know, we've been told we have, but I can't say, for certain. Are you having regrets?" he replied after a moment's thought, looking back at Zone.

The hamster smiled a weary but confident grin and slowly shook his head. "Nah, no regrets. I knew it was going to be hard and that we might not make it from the outset, even if things have gone beyond what I had expected. Sure sometimes I don't _like_ how things are going, but I don't _regret_ them, it wouldn't be much of a challenge without adversity would it?" he answered.

"That's true…" Reiko agreed with a slow nod. "So you're not afraid?" after all they had been through, he wouldn't blame him. Twice recently they'd scarcely avoided defeat. Once was draining enough, and twice made it feel like it should be over, not to mention they were promised a third fight before they even got to their true enemy. It really took a toll, which was why they were still here, and not through the open portals.

This time the hamster chuckled. "Hehe, look at me Reiko. I'm a half-foot tall rodent; people could grind my life out under their heel. I'm _almost always_ afraid somewhere inside, I just try not to let it rule me. The more you succumb to the fear of death, the less alive you are, or at least I think. Yeah I'm afraid, but fear's just another obstacle to overcome, if you ask me. What about you, how do you see it?" he asked in return.

"Me?" Reiko raised his head in surprise, with a little difficulty, unaccustomed to such a personal question. Zone gave a simple nod of confirmation though, so he answered, "I guess to put it formally, the world is so much vaster than us, and there's so many things worth fighting for, even worth dying for. Eventually we all die, I think it's best to die for something you believe in".

Zone sat through this in silence, absorbing the different perspective. With a sudden start he laughed, "Haha, I just thought, even though we come at it from opposite directions we reach basically the same conclusion".

Reiko quirked his brow at this, but then it dawned on them that they sort of did. "You're right. You and me agreeing, that's a little scary" he joked with understated humour.

"It is" Zone agreed. Realising what he was doing, he added "You're still a boring broody stiff-ass, though", being friendlily abusive in a way few could pull off, but Zone was among them, his wry grin free of malice.

"And you're still a reckless, immature smart-ass" Reiko replied with and equal blend of honesty and acceptance of the facts. Nobody was perfect, after all.

"Hehe, guilty as charged" Zone admitted, glad to accept and be accepted, faults and all. Turning his head, he looked over Reiko to Arson, who was sat a little way away towards the edge. "Hey Arson, you alright?" he called, the hybrid having been unusually quiet, although they all had in the aftermath of the last battle.

Arson's head snapped round as if caught out of focusing on something. "Oh, yeah, I was just watching, I uh think, it's changing, if you look close enough you can see" he answered.

"Changing?" Reiko said, propping himself up on his elbows. He and Zone scrutinized the shifting colours with acute attention. It took a minute to notice, but then they saw it, Arson was right. It was too intangible to discern at first, but by some gradual decay the pattern-defying movements seemed to be losing what little coherence they possessed, as if the chaos was slowly diffusing itself.

"That can't be good, can it?" Zone voiced what Reiko had already figured out.

"No, it is not. That is the closest we will get to a countdown clock" the vampire explained the deterioration.

"I guess, we should get moving, huh?" Zone said, standing up and flexing his limbs experimentally. He was glad to find he could move more or less fine, the previous battle having incurred no physical harm on them. That hadn't made it any less deadly, though, the Blind Seer having attacked their very essence. They could recover from it, as it was trauma not injury, but how much the soul could endure before being extinguished, Zone didn't want to dwell on. "Can you move OK?" this was directed at Reiko, who had taken a worse toll.

Reiko tried, the difficulty of it a very unusual kind. Physically, his body was struggling somewhat from its exertions thus far, but it was nothing he couldn't cope with, yet. The challenge was in summoning the will to, it was like spending hours pouring effort into something, only to see it destroyed and have to start from scratch, it was so tempting to just, not bother, not care.

Zone watched Reiko, and felt an awkward sense of inadequacy at the fact he couldn't do a simple thing like give his friend a hand up. Before he could think of anything to say though, something grasped Reiko's arm.

"Wanna lift?" it was Arson, an earnestly helpful expression on his face. Reiko nodded, and with a simple yet meaningful gesture, the teenager pulled him to his feet. Talking to Zone had been therapeutic, and this last basic but cooperative act helped Reiko cleanse out the last disheartening shadows lingering inside him.

"Thank you Arson" Reiko said with rejuvenating spirit, to which the hybrid returned a bright if quiet smile.

"So I guess this means you think we have a chance?" Zone asked.

"I don't know if we will or can succeed, but I know we can try, thus we have hope" Reiko nodded in reply.

"Good enough for me" Zone said, reassured. "As long as I have something to aim for, overwhelming odds just make the victory _that much_ sweeter" he enthused.

"Excellent, what about you Arson?" Reiko turned to the hybrid.

Arson blinked and turned to him again as if distracted from something, but smiled and said "No giving up".

Reiko hesitated briefly, noticing Arson seemed uncharacteristically laconic. He considered asking what was troubling him, but his smiles and what words he did say were sincere, so he decided to give him his rightful privacy. "Can I have the guide, Arson?" he asked, to which he got a nod, and the strategy guide in his hand.

Some brief discussion ensued, and then they each went their separate ways into the three awaiting portals…

----

Reiko stumbled forwards as the light faded, staggering for balance as he moved with unusual haste. His legs bent, buckled, and pleaded to give out from the awkward angle, but he gritted his teeth and pushed, muscles burning but grudgingly responding as he broke into a run.

Taking no time to enjoy the scenery, the vampire fought to accelerate, charging along the stone path. There was a demon ahead of him, but he didn't even take the time to register what type. It was drawing its breath in, but the sandstorm attack it blasted out was diverted upwards as Reiko swung his staff around from his back and leapt, transferring all his kinetic energy up its length to crack the monster under the jaw. It was sent somersaulting over onto its front, and a moment later Reiko landed on its back, wobbling a little with the difficulty of balancing. Then he launched them skidding across the floor by pushing his pole against it.

Practically canoeing them up the path towards a half-collapsed set of stairs, Reiko was given all of a brief moment to think. Usually the taciturn, thoughtful one amongst them, it seemed unusual that he had ended up with this task, racing along stone paths and plateaus using demons as surfboards trying to beat the clock to the Fragment at the other end. However he was also the fastest of them; Arson was quick but Reiko more so, and while Zone could be surprisingly agile and fast he was no match for the vampire over long distance.

Pushing up off of his unwilling ride, Reiko sprung up onto the intact portion of the stairs and hit it running, just as the demon crashed face-first into the rubble behind. Another enemy lay ahead of him, and as it fired its sand blast, Reiko pole-vaulted over the scathing cloud. Sailing over it, he used its back as a springboard to kick off of and leap ahead. He hit the ground with legs pumping, heart pounding, and the clock ticking…

----

The lighting portal dissipated slowly to reveal a cheerily smiling Arson. He was happy because he had been upgraded from the water portal, which he'd taken the last two times already, and it had given him the chills.

Looking around himself, his good mood took a bit of a knock as he found himself in a barren and morbid place that wasn't familiar, but in his mind was swiftly starting to resemble an arena. All it seemed to be lacking was an audience, some fighters and Arson hoped, someone selling hot dogs.

As if reading his mind, one of these requirements were fulfilled, although to the teenager's disappointment it was not a hot dog vender. "Not even popcorn I bet" he muttered bitterly as three grotesque mutant spiders descended from above, surrounding him. Drawing his swords, Phoenix and Dragon ignited into flames, and the secretly attentive hybrid noticed a flicker of fear in the demons' eyes. _Don't like fire eh_, he thought with a slowly spreading grin as he spun the blades, fanning flames.

The spiders shrieked in fury, and he couldn't help but think such an annoying noise would work great on an alarm clock. Their murderous instincts didn't take long to overcome the fear of burning and they were soon circling and leaping closer to him. Arson kept his guard up, and when the first one lashed out he ducked the swing and retaliated, slashing and burning its already ugly face.

Suddenly his assault was halted as the creature parried his swords, chitinous scythe-like limbs clashing with hard flaming metal in a shower of sparks. Arson stumbled back, surprised by the cunning move. He heard a whistling sort of rushing sound to the side, and without looking leapt up, serrated biological blades zipping through the place he had been standing a second ago as a second demon lunged. He was still rising, when a big sticky white mess slammed into him, panicking the hybrid who thought he'd stumbled into a macro-fic. Following the trailing muck back to its source, he was semi-relieved to find it was only the webbing of one of the spiders. Feeling it pulling him in, he focused and a surge of flames burst around him, incinerating the webbing and freeing him. Dropping back to the ground Arson wiped his forehead, panting "Tough guys"…

----

Zone shivered as he experienced a sudden and unexpected change from warmth to coldness. This happened because the warm, billowing fire portal had left him on a moving sort of cart, whizzing along its track. This in turn left the rodent, who had been enjoying the heat in his fur, suddenly with a very chilly wind blowing through it in its place. He hugged himself reflexively.

"Brrr, st-stupid tr, train… Thing" he chattered, not sure quite what to call the vaguely cart-like platform he was standing on. He reckoned it was about ten metres long and four wide, and it had a sort of, post thing in each corner, but otherwise it was unguarded. Wandering cautiously to the edge, Zone let out a long whistle.

The cart was on the outside of two tracks that seemed to circle at least part of the outside circumference of the tower. Looking up gave a view of a sheer, rising surface of immense proportions and gradual curvature, the kind that would make any observer feel small, let alone a hamster. Below was simply a _long way down_.

Zone's ears twitched as he heard a rattling sound, and turning his head he saw another cart approaching on the inside track. Edging away from the well, edge, he drew his weapons from the eternally mysterious place he kept them, readying himself. He was tired physically and mentally, but he could still move, and still see, so he was jaw-clenchingly determined to _keep, going_.

As the train got closer, Zone made out two occupants, one regular Hell Pride, and, something else roughly humanoid carrying a big, strange-looking ball, easily a metre across. Shrugging off his curiosity, he aimed, and just to see what would happen, squeezed off a low-power, experimental shot at the big, pulsing sphere.

The moment he did so, the ball erupted into a huge explosion that bloomed over the train. Zone closed one eye and braced against the shockwave, but he still saw the Hell Pride get sent flying off the side of the cart.

When the blast cleared, nothing was left but an empty, badly scorched train. "_Awesome_!!" Zone whooped excitedly, so enamoured by the massive explosion he almost didn't notice the second cart coming. "Haha, like a bomb buffet" he laughed as he took aim and fired, relishing in the subsequent detonation, finding the job of fireworks manager thoroughly reinvigorating…

----

Reiko came stumbling out of the light again, and this time didn't resist as his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees panting. Slumping back a little, he raised his hand and opened it, relieved to see the Fragment appear, and then let his arm drop and sat catching his breath.

He was still like this when Zone returned next, the hamster featuring a thoroughly entertained grin. "Man, you look beat" he remarked as he walked over to Reiko.

A weary nod, "It was a very demanding time limit" he replied, "I notice you appear to be rather energized".

"Hehe, I got to blow things up, it was enjoyable, and therapeutic" Zone answered with an animated gesture.

"How fortunate, for you" Reiko breathed out, slightly envious that while he ran himself ragged, Zone got to enjoy himself. The rodent gave an innocuous shrug and coy grin, as if to say he couldn't help his good luck.

At this point the lightning portal crackled, and they looked to see it discharge Arson. The hybrid staggered out of it, managed a few steps, muttered something about "catching the number of that Vanguard", and then toppled over onto the ground, groaned, and fell silent.

Zone looked from Arson to Reiko, to find that Reiko had stopped looking at the hybrid to look at him. They exchanged looks, and compared. "Looks like these missions are getting harder" Reiko surmised eventually.

"Looks likely" answered Zone, who was recounting his good fortunes at how well suited to him his mission had been, pausing briefly to prepare some synonyms for the word _look_.

While the rodent worked on diversifying the story's descriptive vocabulary, which he seemed to be doing with proficient alacrity, Reiko got to grips with the task of standing up. It was a difficult business as he was still slightly dizzy from his mad dash, not to mention his muscles felt a sort of airy burning whenever they moved. With an effort of focus and will, he made it to his feet, and went over to Arson to help do likewise.

"Are you alright Arson?" he asked as he reached the floored teenager, bending over and offering a hand up.

"Smrphfyn" game the garbled response, Arson's face still against the floor. His hand fumbled round blindly and eventually found Reiko's, and with a unified effort, he made it first to his knees, then finally to his feet.

"I'll take your… Noise for it" Reiko replied, hesitant to call the lottery of consonants a word. Looking over Arson, he didn't seem to be exactly injured, rather extremely roughed up. His clothes were a mess, and his hair looked like it was undergoing a schism, but the vampire found no ripped clothing or bloodied wounds.

All in all it appeared Arson had been dragged down a back alley and gangbanged by two unruly hurricanes.

"Well, I'm ready, you guys good to go?" Zone asked wandering over, satisfied with the quality of the lexis.

"I'm, ready enough" Reiko answered, having recovered most of his breath and balance. "Arson?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm OK" he answered, nodding, and then pausing to repair the disarray it inflicted upon his hair.

Reiko again hesitated; his friend looked worse for wear, though they all did, but Arson especially so. But, if he said he was OK Reiko trusted him, he knew his limits better than the vampire, "Very well, lets proceed".

"Hey, we're almost there" Zone chipped in optimistically, opening his paw, his Fragment appearing over it.

"That's true" Reiko agreed, raising his own hand too. Arson put the blade of Dragon in his mouth to free up a palm, and raised it. The repetitive special effects followed, which everyone skips after seeing a few times.

"Thank God for the start button" Arson remarked, as they gathered around the newly formed energy portal. They were about to enter, when something happened.

With a deafening shattering sound, the pillar of light exploded, the trio covering their eyes and backing off rapidly. When the glare and noise had subsided, they looked to find in place of the gateway stood a person.

Or at least, with generous vagueness you could call it a person. Covered in either deep black, or bold red, it resembled a human in shape, but clearly wasn't. Rather it closer matched the appearance of something that is designed to look like a human, such as a toy. It's clothes had a hard to describe simplicity to them, and it had a face that, while obviously its real face, resembled a mask. In fact, it was surprisingly similar to Jester.

Most alarming of all though, was the fact that it was standing there at all, in the middle of the platform from which they operated. It was shocking. It was unprecedented. It was like being attacked in the options menu.

"This is a bit sooner than I expected" Arson muttered.

Upon hearing this, the as yet unnamed newcomer, who had been happily posing in the wake of its entrance, turned and looked at him. "You were, _expecting_ me?" it said with a male voice, again not unlike to Jester's.

"The Blind Seer mentioned a third enemy" Reiko answered, seizing the chance to analyse their new enemy.

The creature's head snapped round to stare at Reiko now, and his previously joyful eyes smouldered with inconceivable rage. "I HATE BEING _EXPECTED_!" he screamed furiously, the air around him shimmering from heat. Then as soon as it had come, the anger left, the creature sighing casually. "I never liked the bitch anyway" it remarked offhandedly, as if commenting on the weather.

"Hold on a second. If you lot aren't restricted to your own areas, why don't you team up on us all at once?" Zone demanded. The mini tyrant was vehemently against the stereotype that bad guys followed dumb rules.

"You mean _cooperate_? With _them_?" the creature responded with an expression that suggested he had asked it to copulate with a radish. "Don't insult me, you've met them, haven't you? They are _boring_" it answered.

Reiko could tell Zone was about to retort abusively, so he cut in to draw out the banter, giving more time to size up their enemy. "It might help if we knew your name" he suggested.

"My name? The Wild Card, and I'm the force of chaos and continuity errors and all that yada yada, this is boring, lets fight" The Wild Card responded impulsively.

The trio glanced at each other with raised eyebrows, except in the case of Zone, as he didn't have any. "At least he gets to the point" Arson pointed out with a shrug.

"Well done that lad, lets give him a big hand!" The Wild Card said, clapping emphatically. With a sudden movement he threw several small objects towards Arson. As they rushed towards him they turned out to be playing cards, which became extremely apparent when they spontaneously enlarged to be two metres high.

"But, I'm not supposed to gamble!" Arson complained as he hastily moved out of the path of one giant card only to be clipped by a second, and then smacked head-on by a third. The hybrid was pushed back towards the edge by the biggest seven of hearts in history, scrambling for enough purchase to stop his forced retreat.

With a growl of determination, Dragon whipped round and slashed into the card's middle. Burning through the plastic-like material, the sword severed it clean apart, the two halves exploding into flaming ashes that whipped past Arson's hair. With a flurry of furious swings he hacked his way through the rest of the storm.

Despite this development, the Wild Card seemed more pleased than ever. "For a kid who doesn't gamble you dealt with that pretty well" he laughed deliriously, stopping when a staff cracked his head to the side.

On the other end of the staff stood Reiko, who had analysed their enemy and made his move. He was going to try and help Arson, but he realised he wouldn't reach him in time, and then when the teenager had saved himself, it had left him free to sneak up on the distracted clown. Their last two opponents had had a distinct weakness; the Puppet Master was physically frail and without control, powerless. The Blind Seer had been equally lacking in brute strength, so Reiko reasoned chances were this Wild Card was similarly vulnerable.

The Wild Card's head lolled to the side sickeningly from the force of the blow, its body starting to collapse in the same direction. Then with startling suddenness, it halted in its descent and the creature's head twisted round to stare Reiko in the eyes, who was standing directly behind him. "So you wanna play rough eh?" the Wild Card asked rhetorically, and his body suddenly jerked to life.

Bringing his arms around, a whirlwind of club suit cards coalesced in his hands, and before Reiko could so much as raise his staff to defend, it smashed into his chest. "Strike three, you're out!" the Wild Card yelled, as Reiko was smacked careering back through the air. With a brutal impact he crashed back-first into one of the four talon-like pillars around the edge of the platform, hitting it near the top, which fractured and drifted apart. As the pieces floated into the void, Reiko tumbled down the roughly curved pillar back onto the dais.

"Alright, that did not go as planned" the vampire admitted as he landed on all fours, shakily rising again after several moments. He noted that this enemy was evidently more physically resilient than the others.

"So this one can fight back" Arson noted, him and Zone standing shoulder to ankle, their weapons raised.

"True, but I bet we can wear him down" the rodent replied confidently. "He can take being bashed, maybe cutting works better" he suggested with a twirl of his lightsabre. Arson nodded and they charged together.

"New playmates, excellent!" the Wild Card yelled joyfully, and raising his arms he inexplicably called into being two garden shovels. Arson leapt forwards, Phoenix clashing with the head of a spade as Zone made a slash for the creature's leg that it evaded, turning and lashing out with its other abnormal weapon at Arson.

The hybrid parried, and he and the hamster duelled frantically with the shovel-wielding maniac. Reiko ran over to assist them as soon as he could stand properly. Not wanting to be ganged up on by all three of them, the Wild Card swung with sudden fury, having been laughing deliriously the entire time up until that point.

Arson was heaved backwards and Zone sent flying with a thwack in the front he was able to brace against with his weapon, but it still left him dazed on his back a dozen feet away.

Turning to Reiko, the Wild Card launched one spade like a javelin, the vampire batting it to the side with his staff and commando rolling to avoid the second, which was flying straight at his face. His hands now free, the Wild Card pointed his palms at Reiko as he rolled to his feet again, only a few paces from the creature. Before he could take another step though, a swarm of glowing specks of energy flew out of the Wild Card's hands at him. Reiko spun his staff like a helicopter blade to deflect them, but was still forced back by the sheer press of them, rapidly driven towards the edge until eventually he leapt out of their path, several of them scoring lacerations across his exposed side.

"Hey, leave Reiko alone!" Arson yelled, leaping at the distracted fighter. Thrusting forwards, both of his blades parted the air with a hiss, and sunk straight into the creature's torso, except it wasn't there anymore. Phoenix and Dragon sliced through flimsy card, Arson stumbling forwards from the unexpected lack of any resistance. A laugh emanated behind him, and he spun round just in time to get a body full of energy stars.

"Haha, this is fun! I was worried I'd have no one to play with when I got the short straw and had to go last. I'm glad to killed the other two, I'd be bored out of my skull right now if you hadn't" the lunatic laughed as Arson cried out in pain, the bursts of light cutting at him and throwing him backwards with raw force. "Oh and can't forget the pest problem" he added as the hybrid landed, turning to Zone, who had only managed to stand a couple of moments ago, his head ringing. Turning his open hands on the dizzy hamster, he fired.

For Zone, there was a sudden and painful awareness, replacing his hazy-mindedness in an instant. He saw Arson down, Reiko standing but obviously worse for wear, and last of all the rapidly approaching swarm of lethal little stars closing in on him, all as if in slow motion. With equal clarity he knew that the energy bolts would rip him to shreds if they hit, and that he could dodge some, but not that many. The lights reflected in his dark rodent eyes as his paws fumbled with his laser gun, some instinct to survive controlling his limbs.

The galaxy of pain rushed towards the hamster, and then when they were only a couple of feet away from him, seemed to shift almost unnoticeably in their trajectory.

The storm of energy hit, and the rodent vanished in a blast of light. The Wild Card cackled maniacally, and turned to deal with the others. As he did a crimson beam of energy ripped out of the white glow, dissipating it and revealing Zone, completely intact, a maelstrom of energy points whipping around him making his fur billow, before pouring into the charging port of his laser even as it channelled the energy back to its owner.

It was the Wild Card's turn for a slow-motion experience, as he turned he head bemusedly. "Huh?" he said, and in the next instant the thick beam of power ripped through his side leaving a foot wide hole in his body.

"House loses" Zone remarked as he lowered his weapon, which was thankfully still full, having fed off his enemy's own attack. Arson had also picked himself up.

With a scream of agony, the Wild Card staggered around clutching the space where a significant portion of itself once was. Suddenly, several cracks in the air itself shot out between its fingers, and as Reiko, Arson and Zone watched on aghast, these fractures zigzagged across the platform. With a disturbing shudder, the whole construct of stone jolted, shook, and split apart into several large chunks that started tumbling apart.

"This is not an improvement!" Reiko yelled to the hamster, the vampire struggling to balance on his piece.

"How was I supposed to know this would happen!" Zone defended indignantly, keeping stable on all fours.

"Uh, guys, I think it's getting worse" Arson waved to the other two, pointing with his other hand upwards.

Zone and Reiko looked up, and saw the Wild Card now floating over the dismantled platform. He was still writhing, but had started to laugh, alternating harshly between tones of amusement and rage. Suddenly his body convulsed, and from the huge gap in his side appeared another arm, this one thickly-muscled, bestial even in appearance, a matching limb ripping from his other side. "Now the stakes are up!" he cried at them.

"I refuse to take the blame for this" Zone cut in before anyone else could say anything. Reiko threw him an annoyed look, but quelled his irritation, telling himself that in all fairness, he couldn't have known that this would result from successfully attacking their enemy.

The platform had fractured into several pieces, which were drifting randomly but seemed not to wander too far apart. There were four major chunks roughly equal in size, with at least twice as many smaller, car-sized pieces orbiting them and countless bits of tiny debris.

"It seems foolish to keep attacking him, but we don't really have any other choice. Perhaps he does wear down over time" Reiko said, turning and judging a jump onto the unoccupied section. Running and leaping up to a smaller floating chunk, he kicked off it and propelled himself towards the Wild Card from behind. His enemy seemed like he wouldn't react in time, as the vampire rapidly ascended towards him with staff held ready to strike, when, he, was, suddenly, caught, in, a, storm, of, inappropriately, placed, punctuation.

Slowing him down immensely before he suddenly crossed a random paragraph break. Bewildered and quite disorientated, Reiko looked around for his target. A hand tapped him on the shoulder, and the vampire gave a resigned sigh, not humouring the cliché moment and turning round, getting smashed from behind instead.

As Reiko hit Arson's platform hard, the hybrid looked at him with worry and confusion. "What happened up there?" he asked, having seen, but not understood.

"I don't know…" Reiko replied as he struggled to his feet, "It was as if twisted the fabric of reality itself".

Zone meanwhile was trying to snipe their opponent with his laser, but he kept evading. Suddenly a series of big bullet holes looking like they'd been shot in glass appeared around the rodent, who yelped and dodged with alarm. A moment later and the ground under him shattered and the devil hunter rank screen appeared in front of him. Zone stared at it in bewilderment, and then suddenly cursed, "An A for style? Screw you!".

While the hamster was trying to find his way out of the end of level screen, Arson took his chance and leapt up at the occupied Wild Card. He got about halfway before the Devil May Cry 3 logo appeared out of thin air and obstructed him. "What. the heck?" Arson scratched his head, confused, but tried to break it anyway.

"No, Stinger it" Reiko advised, seeing the hybrid wasn't meeting with any luck. Arson complied, and thrust his swords right into the logo, which promptly broke. He continued to move upwards, disorientating as that is, and flew at the Wild Card, engaging him in combat. The two traded blows, but while Arson was skilled, he only had half as many arms as his opponent and was repetitively hit with traumatisingly random objects.

Zone meanwhile had managed to load himself back from the main menu, and reappeared in a kitchen sink, which was running, as it smacked Arson over the head. Spluttering and leaping up onto the tap, he jumped at the face of the Wild Card, who jerked to the side, but the rodent still succeeded in cutting across its head.

"Zone?" Arson muttered in surprise, deflecting an umbrella as he stared at the familiar rodent. As he did so, the wound the hamster had dealt convulsed, and a horn tore out of it, a second appearing to mirror the first.

"This is not going well" Reiko thought out loud as he looked up at Arson, Zone landing near him as he did.

"Oh come on, I get him in the head and he gets _stronger_?!" Zone complained as he stood up and looked up in time to see Arson get sent crashing down with a brutal headbutt. The hybrid was knocked back, and then punched down to slam into the platform next to his friends' a moment later. Reiko looked at him worriedly, but the hybrid wasn't out of it yet, and stood up shakily, although he was bleeding badly from the forehead.

Reiko looked back to their opponent. "The more we fight and damage him, the more dangerous he becomes to battle" he remarked, the Wild Card looking only half like a clown and half like a demon now. Similarly, their surroundings were becoming more and more hazardous, the fragments colliding with each other and sending more debris floating. The longer they battled, the more things became a Hell of danger and chaos.

"Any ideas?" Arson asked as he leapt over to the others.

"Perhaps, if we don't attack him, his power will regress. It's worth a try" Reiko suggested. Zone opened his mouth to object, but bit his tongue, since he couldn't come up with anything better. Cautiously they waited.

"Aww, not going to play with me anymore?" the Wild Card asked with a pout, a child-like disappointment in his voice. He got no reply verbal or otherwise, and suddenly his face contorted into an expression of fury and he roared "Then, you all die!", his voice deep and bellowing. With another war cry he charged at them.

"I hope this works!" Zone shouted as the semi-demon crashed into the platform, making it tremble from the impact. Stumbling but staying upright, they attacked him together, fighting in a synchronised assault. Reiko took the lead with a rapid series of staff stabs, the Wild Card managing to catch it in his hands, but when he did, Zone ran along it and lashed out at his arms, making him release it and letting Reiko push him towards Arson, who slashed up his back with both blades. The Wild Card stumbled, but his cry of pain changed to one of anger as two jagged wings ripped out of the wounds, forcing Arson to back off as they opened wide.

The battled continued like this, the combined skill of Arson, Reiko and Zone enough to land blows on their enemy, but each hit dealt seemed only to strengthen him. Furthermore, the Wild Card's own attacks were taking their toll, and the platform upon which they stood was fragmented into smaller pieces by one slam of all four of its arms. This made it harder for them to fight together, and the battle was wearing them down.

"Ugh!" Reiko choked as a giant fist seized his throat, squeezing hard. The vampire thrashed and kicked, but he had evaded, blocked and endured so many attacks already, his strength was waning. Even as he kicked the deformed creature before him in the head, it barely flinched.

"Do you need an instruction manual on how to die?!" Zone exclaimed as he drove his lightsabre into the back of the monster's neck, having caught hold of one of its wings and climbed onto his back. Running over his shoulder, the rodent cut a four-inch deep wound around half the creature's neck and jumped clear.

Reiko crumpled to the ground as he was released, Zone landing besides him a moment later. Behind him, the monster, which seemed to have lost or stopped using his capacity for speech, roared and clawed at his throat. He seemed in pain, but after a few moments a ring of bony spikes thrust out his neck, and he was even more dangerous than before. He advanced on them, but Arson leapt onto his back and distracted him.

"Unbelievable, absolute madness" Reiko gasped, watching as the beast wrestled with the hybrid. There was just no way of weakening the creature; their attacks just seemed to fuel it and if they left it, it attacked them anyway. What they were fighting now bore hardly any vestiges of resemblance to the clown they had first known, it looked more like a fully-fledged demon lord.

As Reiko got up and Zone willed his body to keep going, the Wild Card managed to get his hands on Arson and slammed him into the stone chunk, fracturing it. Their half drifted away as the hybrid was punched in the gut repeatedly, cracks spreading over the ground around him.

With a lunge, Reiko tackled the brute off of him, the two of them tumbling onto another part. The vampire was on top, but at the last moment the Wild Card twisted and shoved him against the ground. He raised his head to smash it into Reiko's, but a red blast snapped it to the side, making him look the way it came from.

"Why, don't, you…" Zone panted then trailed off, realising there was no one the monster's own size about. "Just die!" he finished lamely but with conviction., taking another shot. His target leapt back and dodged it, pushing off of a drifting chunk and landing on Zone's. A fist came hurtling down, and the rodent only just manages to leap clear as it shattered the ground he had been standing on. A second one shot down and he rolled to the side, thrown up by the near-miss. A third hand snatched him from the air, and there was a brief moment of tension before the squeezing the rodent knew would come, came, and lasted all of half a second.

The Wild Card squeezed, and Zone's body shrunk in his fist. With a sickening crunch, a blur impacted with the giant's wrist, the hand holding the hamster, making it spasm and release him. The staff reversed into the chin of its target as Reiko reached out and caught the falling hamster, terrified he'd been too late, "Zone?!".

Zone didn't stir for a moment, and then another moment. Then he coughed and opened his eyes, "Shit, that, aches like you would not believe" he choked out weakly. Seeing the expression of amazement and relief on Reiko's face, he managed a weak grin, patting his sides, "Collapsible ribcage; being a hamster has its uses".

"So it does" Reiko answered quietly. Then he saw the look that crossed Zone's face, and he went to turn, but was too late as four massive arms closed around him, pinning his own to his chest, Zone in his hand.

Arson's head lifted as he heard a faint noise. He could hardly see straight, but the noise persisted and as he focused, he recognised it. It was Reiko; he was in pain.

"R, Reiko?" the hybrid muttered weakly as he managed to lift his head. Several metres away, the monster that their enemy had become was standing on a platform, the vampire trapped in a bear hug facing away from him. Even as slow horror crept through his mind, the teenager could see his friend straining against the crushing force, and suddenly he noticed a movement in his hands against his chest. It was Zone, Arson realised, the hamster trapped against Reiko's chest by the vice grip, the vampire using his arms to shield the vulnerable rodent from the pressure, but he was slowly losing strength and it was leaking through, Zone at first gritting his teeth, and then yelling as he felt himself compressed.

"N, n-no…" Arson whispered in despair as he saw his friends suffer. "S… Stop…" he choked out, trying to rise, but his body just wouldn't respond. He grit his teeth, blood dripping from his lip, and heaved, his torso slowly rising up, and then giving out. "No, stop h, hurting, them" it was a whimper, a demand and a prayer, and he _willed_ himself to rise, his limbs responding agonisingly slowly as he listened to his friends' torment.

Gradually, he managed to roll onto his front, then rise onto all fours, and then turn around. As he looked at the scene before him again, Reiko's head shot up and his back bent in painfully. "Reiko!" Arson cried out, and he pushed on his feet too stand. But it was too much, too rushed, and he only got halfway up before his legs gave out, and he fell face-first to the ground. Out of sight, his friends' cries of suffering rose an octave.

"_Stop hurting my friends_!" the scream echoed through the void, and it took several seconds for Arson to realise it was his voice, a sudden surge of energy fuelling his voice. Feeling something well up inside him, the hybrid twitched, then convulsed where he lay. With a ripping sound, two bulges expanded under his coat, straining and finally tearing free of the fabric, and in a flourish of feathers, two angelic wings spread.

"Enough" the single word left his lips, and with one mighty beat, the wings lifted Arson up and held him in the air. His body hung limp as though crucified by his own new appendages. Slowly, clenching his jaw, the hybrid forced his arms to rise, and pointed them at the monster hurting his friends. With a cry, white beams of pure light erupted from around his limbs and shot towards the beast, wrapping round each its appendage.

"What is this?" a guttural voice emanated from the creature as it was bound, the first time it had spoken in a while. Turning its head, it saw the one it had beaten all but to death, but yet somehow different from before.

"This is your penance" Arson answered, his voice sounding different, as if it came from beyond his own body. With a sudden wrench, the creature was pulled towards the hybrid by the coils of light, Reiko and with him Zone dropped by the sudden jerk, landing on the platform. Snarling the beast turned on its new victim, but found itself unable to move. Fighting against its restraints, the bonds cut into it, and it laughed as new and wicked mutations burst from the wounds. However the more it twisted and thrashed, the more the holy energy surrounded it, until it was completely encased in an orb of pure light, a perfect white globe.

"Know your own wrath" Arson intoned. As he concentrated on holding the sphere together, the monster's thrashings became increasingly wild. Slowly, trapped with its own chaos, it tore itself to pieces, until in the end nothing remained but a clear orb. With a sigh, Arson lowered his arms, and the sphere faded to nothing. "It is done" he breathed, his wings vanishing as he did. Then he collapsed onto the platform, unconscious…


	27. Blue Heaven’s Salvation

_**Author's Notes:** Alright, finally, I got chapter 27 written :D! Sorry about the long wait, between university deadlines, Christmas business and all the other things in life, I've been struggling to find time and energy to sit down and write. The shopping is done now though, and uni is over for the year, and I'm generally on top of things, so now I can hopefully really focus on finishing this off. First of all, I'm not going to like, try and tell people what to do or name any names, but regarding the, heated debated in the story's reviews, can we make peace guys, please :)? Other than that, let me see, oh yeah, to SinOan, I know that Arson's angelic transformation might have seemed a bit Dues Ex, but trust me it wasn't. It's actually a pre-established power of his that he can't control, he uses it rarely in busta's stories, and the battle went that far to draw it out of him, if I'm honest about plot mechanics. Also thanks to Saddened Soul for the honest feedback, I wanted to see how an abrupt end would work, whether it would create a sense of a real close call, or suck. Evidently it can't work, or if it can, not how I did it. I think that's it all so, enjoy everyone 8)._  
----  
Laughter. It is a beautiful thing to have, and a tragic thing to lose.

Like air is to the body, laughter is to the soul a necessity so vital and abundant, it is often taken for granted. It rarely enters one's worldview to question its place or consider its value, but ask a drowning man what he craves most, and if he could answer, it would not be the wealth, fame or sexual thrill so many pursue daily.

You might conquer the world with power, but only with laughter, would the world cheer you on as you did so. The twin faces of theatre are comedy and tragedy, and even in the darkest moments where no other light shines, it is often the only solace, so that even a man marching to his death might smirk at the irony of it all.

Like water or light, it is a sacred essence we rarely see the true value of having, or the true horror of losing. After all, who has ever been terrified by the thought that the sun might burn out, or the oceans may dry up?

Truly, laughter is a blessing so hard to fully understand, and so easy to dismiss when it is threatened. How readily it is forsaken, and how idly onlookers watch as it shrivels and dies, deeming it petty, meaningless, insignificant. How simple it is to be oblivious of the hollow, chilling silence that would remain without it.

Some might believe it a foolish cause, a trifling matter not worth the effort. But consider the alternative, the barren, desolate and lifeless wasteland that would remain if this vital force were ever allowed to fade away. Weigh and measure the true worth of that vibrancy, colour, and energy, before you judge those who fight to defend it, and ask what the world would be without it, before you question the lengths they go to, to save it.

Laughter. It is simple, it is joyous, and, it is free. Ultimately, what values could be more worth fighting for?

----

Silence reigned.

The void swirled, growing ever more chaotic as time passed. It is hard to say whether the perpetrator of this anarchy was aware of the turmoil she wrought, whether maliciousness or ignorance fuelled her destructive path, but, ultimately, the result was just as disastrous.

The broken remains of the platform drifted in that void, and upon them lay the broken remains of a crusade.

Their spirits had been strong, but unlike their opponents, who were nigh on elemental forces, they were just characters, fallible, flawed, finite. Their enemies did have weaknesses, which they turned against them. The Puppet Master was powerless without control, as Zone had seen, and he'd managed to frustrate and goad it into leaving itself vulnerable. The Blind Seer's power was daunting but she could only inflict fear, pain and despair, holding no sway over those who accepted such sacrifices as Reiko had found. Lastly the Wild Card had thrived on chaos, but Arson's power had been the antithesis to this, order, turning the chaos in on itself.

But, they were still limited beings. Each victory came at a price, taking a toll, their strength weakening, will straining and resolve waning from each such encounter, not to mention their individual challenges between.

Now, they had reached their limits, they could not continue. Having forced themselves to push on so many times, they had nothing left, lying unconscious in the aftermath of their last battle.

Time passed, and eventually one of them stirred and woke.

Blinking and groaning, Zone struggled to lift his head, and make sense of what his eyes saw, rising first of all not because he was the strongest, but for the opposite reason. Out of the three of them, he was, he knew, and would admit to few, the weakest, the one the others protected most, and the one who would have gotten the least far alone, although none of them could have gotten here without the other two. As a result, he had suffered the least, and was the first to recover consciousness.

As was his nature, the rodent spoke what was on his mind. "_Ouch, pain_" he muttered through gritted teeth, feeling as he imagined one would feel after being run over by a steamroller if it was possible to survive the event and experience the subsequent crushed sensation.

Slowly piecing together awareness of his surroundings, the hamster found he was in Reiko's hand, with his other arm wrapped around it, the vampire on his back. He looked in bad shape, and if he were awake, Zone would have quipped that he looked like he, Zone, felt. But he wasn't, and didn't feel up to joking either, so instead he worked on freeing himself from Reiko's grip.

It wasn't easy, as Reiko had quite a tight hold on him, and he also felt very tender and weak, causing him to wonder why his conscious had returned at all, when it was _painfully_ clear his body wasn't in working order.

After a few attempts, he eased himself free, finding he looked at least half the mess he felt. Making his way up his friend's torso to his face and tried to wake him up. Again it took a few tries, as he didn't have a lot of physical presence and didn't feel like shouting either.

After a couple of minutes, Reiko roused, making uncomfortable sounds that agreed with the ones Zone had. Slowly opening his eyes he winced and raised his arm to shield them, but it only made it halfway, dropping incidentally onto Zone's back. "Hehe, you found me" the hamster managed a weak chuckle that stung a bit.

"Zone?" Reiko asked hoarsely, confusion giving way to some relief that he was still alive. He tried to sit up but his body was having none of it, allowing him nothing more than a tiny shift. His ribs ached like murder.

"Yeah I'm here, mostly" came the reply, Zone moving back to Reiko's stomach so he wasn't so awkwardly close to his head. "How about you though?" he asked.

"I, don't seem to be able to move" Rieko replied after testing his limbs out. He could manage some minor movements, but say, rolling onto his front would probably be the pinnacle of his ability at the moment. "I should recover given time, though" he added, to reassure himself or Zone more, he didn't know. "Where's Arson?" he asked suddenly, both him and Zone having passed out shortly after the hybrid had transformed.

"I uh, don't know" Zone answered, his voice tainted with concern. He looked about, but couldn't see Arson anywhere, and the elliptic orbit of their little chunk meant he got to see all the other pieces in time, but still no sign of their friend. One thing he did see was the three portals to the secret missions, laboriously rotating round like giant poles each emanating from a fragment of stone. "I can't see him, or the Wild Card either, I guess he must have beat him, since the portals are active" he relayed.

There was a pensive silence as they dwelt on the unknown fate of their friend, another obstacle and cause for worry. When he could, Reiko raised his head to look himself, and noticed something. "The fire portal" he indicated, Zone turning and looking again. He hadn't seen it the first time, but now that he looked closer, the flaming pillar was less intense than usual, semi-transparent. It happened when the portal had been used.

"You think he went through without us?" Zone asked.

"Arson would not do that, maybe he was on that piece of ground when the portal activated." Reiko replied.

"I hope so…" Zone said, looking into the madness around them, which promised uncertain death if Arson had fallen into it. "Well, what now?" he asked, "I can walk, shakily, but that's about it, you can't even sit up, and we've lost Arson. I'm not one for giving up but lets be honest Reiko, _we're finished_" he whispered.

Another heavy silence followed, as Reiko dwelt on the humbling truth in his words. He was slowly getting some strength back but would take ages to recover, a full day perhaps, and even if Zone could usually carry him, if he were human or something, he wouldn't be able to now, not after everything they'd been through.

Several long minutes passed, bringing with them a harrowing sense of despair as no answers came to mind.

Finally, Reiko shifted, and, Zone getting off of him, sat upright, that task alone an effort of will. "We have to continue, we have no other choice. It seems futile, and I cannot claim to know, that it is not. But to stay here offers no salvation, and we may be trapped if we linger too long" the said, mustering what conviction he could. After a moment he added "Also, if Arson did use the fire portal it's our best hope of finding him".

Zone heaved a weary sigh, but he nodded, "I guess you're right". Try, or don't try, for the rodent, no matter how _hard_ that choice was, it was always a _simple_ one. "Alright, I'm in. All the way" he said more certainly.

"Thank you Zone" Reiko said sincerely, glad that he wasn't giving up, even though he wouldn't blame him if he did. "However, of the remaining portals I don't know what challenges they lead to, do you?" he asked.

A laugh and a shake of the head, "I never even got to look inside the book, too short to join the discussion".

"Ah, I apologise" Reiko offered, but Zone dismissed it with a wave of his paw, indicating he wasn't upset about it. "Would you like to choose your portal, then?" Reiko gave Zone the choice as a kind of reparation.

"Hmmm" the rodent mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I'll take… Lightning" he decided, some fond memories of a certain succubus influencing his choice.

"Alright, that leaves me with water" Reiko concluded, thankful that his destination was close by. However, the lightning portal was almost completely on the opposite side of the nebula of swirling debris from them.

"… I have gotta think before I speak more" Zone sighed, smirking sardonically at his own lack of foresight.

Reiko was busy eying the distance with a calculating gaze. He reckoned Zone _could_ make it across, but it was a long shot gamble kind of could. Raising his arm experimentally, Reiko found he could move it, but not without it shaking in protest. Still, it was better than nothing he reasoned, "Zone, do you want a hand?".

The rodent looked around from trying to plan his own path across the flotsam and wreckage, and quickly got the vampire's meaning. A wary concern flickered across his eyes, but he swallowed it down, telling himself that he was on the way to far greater dangers in any case. "You'd better not miss" he half-joked.

"I will try my best not to" Reiko promised sincerely, silently hoping that his best would be enough while he lowered and opened his hand. Zone climbed into his palm, and the vampire took a minute to feel his weight and judge the throw, his friend's fate once again, literally in his hand.

As Reiko raised him, Zone hesitated, but then said what was on his mind. "Hey, Reiko" the vampire paused at hearing this, looking at him curiously. "I wanted to say, if we don't make it, don't see each other again… I'm glad I knew you and Arson and that we got this far together, glad and grateful… Thanks" he said shyly.

There was a silence, but for once it wasn't awkward, then Reiko spoke. "I am too. Despite our differences, I'm grateful for your companionship, you have a good soul under your brash exterior" the vampire replied.

A final pause ensued, in which no words were exchanged, and the two of them just came to terms with the fact, reinforced by every pain in their bodies, that this might be the last time they see each other. Then, the moment ended, and as Reiko hefted Zone carefully, they'd both decided they were glad for what had been.

Judging the angle and velocity as best as his clouded mind could, Reiko tensed his muscles, which stung in protest, and swung. Vision blurred at the uncoiling motion and pain that spasmed through him. He was not recovered and wouldn't be without much rest, and the only reason he was awake was Zone had roused him.

Trying his best to keep his aim on his memory of where the lightning portal was, he opened his eyes once his head stopped spinning, and a slow terror crept through him. The rodent was sailing across the void, not hitting any of the debris between him and his target, but he was drifting wide of the mark, deviating to the right. Reiko's mind screamed in grief, he had failed him, he'd betrayed his trust, he'd let him down at the-.

The vampire's panic was interrupted as a bolt of energy shot out of the rodent. Firing his laser, Zone altered his trajectory and jerked to the left, zipping neatly into the side of the lightning portal, and vanishing into it.

Relief mercifully smothered Reiko's senses, and he only hoped the hamster wouldn't hold a grudge, but at least he would be alive to, even if he did. Rolling onto his front, he gritted his teeth at the effort of forcing his exhausted body to comply. He was fighting a fatigue of spirit as well as strength, needing time for his regenerative abilities to let him recover, but time he didn't have. Looking up from his crouch, he saw that just 3 metres from him was a ledge level with himself from which he could just, drop into the water portal.

Rising to his feet, the vampire swayed and dropped back to one knee, but groaned with effort and pushed himself back up, standing hunched forwards slightly to balance. He was suffering for his actions, and they would only lead him to further pain, he knew, and his senses rebelled for it, but he had never let such things stop him doing what had to be done, and wouldn't now.

Lowering himself precariously, he tensed his legs, gathering what strength he could, and, leapt. His tendons felt like they were being minced, but he rose, arcing towards the platform. His foot hit solid ground, and the leg gave out, no strength to absorb his inertia left in them as he stumbled, tumbled, fell, bounced against the stone, rolled over the edge, his back smacking it painfully, but managed to push off and fall into the light…

----

Arson awoke in a strange and unfamiliar place, shapes and lights dancing about him. He blinked, and to his surprise, his vision cleared considerably, clarity returning in moments. His mind started to pick things up, and he found he felt completely tranquil. His memory was a little patchy, but while he couldn't say how he got wherever he was now, he recalled enough to be surprised he wasn't in great pain.

Experimentally he tried to move, but got barely any response, as if there was nothing there. He was totally drained, his body empty of energy, but oddly comfortable despite that. He was faintly aware of pain in his body, but it was distant, numbed in a delicate way, as if a fragile blanket had been laid over the sensation.

Not wanting to disturb the enigmatic mercy just yet, the hybrid looked around his surroundings. He was on his back, in a large and bizarre room. One side, the half around his head, was a semi-circle, carved of some grey-blue cross between marble and stone, intricate, repeating patterns carved shallowly into it, with bands of horizontal obsidian inset equidistantly up the height of the room, red pulses following more convoluted patterns of lines, moving around the arcane complex to some unknown design.

The other half of the room, which Arson's feet faced, seemed to be built of large cubes of the same blue-grey material as the wall, each a couple of metres a side, maybe more, smooth, but arranged to provide a jagged face that seemed to sweep back like curtains as they reached the floor, although when Arson lifted his head, the space left was empty.

Last and strangest of all, there were identical cubes, all equal in size, floating around the room, which was so tall that its higher reaches were lost in shadow. Defying all gravity, some of the blocks stayed still, some moved up and down or back and forth, some in repeating patterns, some rotated, and some were in groups.

Having learned all he could with sight, Arson made to sit up. He was reluctant to shed the veil of comfort that felt what he imagined a mother's embrace should feel like, reassuring, making everything OK, even if it hurt. But he knew he couldn't stay there, and he willed himself to rise up, swaying unsteadily to his feet.

"Whoa, dizzy" he muttered, if only to reassure himself with the solid sound of his own voice that he wasn't a ghost. He felt, light, like a feather, as if he possessed almost no strength or presence, but it would take just a breeze of effort to move him. He tested himself by taking a step, and almost fell over, as his leg swept out in front of him as though weightless. Stumbling to recover his balance, Arson decided to take it slower, and carefully reached into his coat, and took out the strategy guide to find out where he was. He felt as if he had to constantly focus on his whole body, even when standing still, or else he would just go limp and fall over.

Flicking through the pages, he blinked frequently to force the words to stay put and make sense. Feeling was starting to return to his body, and with it the normal sense of presence and weight that everyone took for granted. After a minute he found what he was looking for; he had somehow ended up in secret mission 12, and his objective was to reach the Blue Orb Fragment at the top of the room.

Putting the book away, he looked up, seeing the formidable obstacle course that lay before, and above him. He could not access the power that had come to him on the verge of losing his friends, so flying up was out of the question, he would have to do it the regular way. Skipping from foot to foot, he could feel awareness of his body returning, bringing with it an encroaching weariness and exhaustion, but he held his composure together. He had to do this, this was it, the final challenge before Mary Sue, the hybrid's Final Ascension…

----

The lightning portal appeared, and several moments later faded, leaving behind Zone lying on his front, not having had the energy to walk out of the incandescent pillar. He lay there and moaned, his tiny body crying out at him to let it rest. He tried to shove that urge down, tried to fuel himself and drive himself on, but how many times had he already done so? How many times had he forced himself to keep going, stand again and keep fighting when the pain and exhaustion made him want to give in? He had lost count, and he knew that, no matter how hard he tried it was impossible to keep going forever. Eventually he would have nothing left.

Right now it felt like eventually had come; he couldn't convince his limbs to move, not after telling them to keep going so many times only to punish himself more. "Come on, get up" he told himself; _he was so tired_.

Fortunately for him, one of the few advantages afforded of his species was it was even easier to move on all fours than it was bipedal. So instead of rising, he crawled forwards on his belly, and looked around himself.

He was in a long corridor, about 8 metres wide, 10 metres tall with a curved ceiling, and so long the far end was shrouded in shadow… It was, unusually familiar.

A sharp, rushing sound suddenly hissed from down the hallway, like sleek, sharp metal, slicing through air.

Zone laughed. It hurt to do so, and his ribs ached in protest, but he did so anyway, he couldn't help it, not after the spark of recognition that the sound triggered in his memory. Pulling himself forwards, he watched as slivery, polished spikes emerged from holes in the walls, floor and ceiling, coming down the corridor in waves of two, each reaching halfway across or between top and bottom, so only one quadrant was safe for travel, though it was a different corner each wave. As he watched, he noticed they were moving faster, too.

"Aaah, Irony" Zone sighed, as if addressing an old, mischievous acquaintance, up to their usual antics. He yawned hard, clenching his eyes, and then, summoning his will, he stood up, and walked into the gauntlet.

Rows of vicious spikes rushed past, all around him, lashing out with enough force to not merely impale, but emulsify the tiny hamster's body. And he walked straight through the middle of it all, so small that his little body fit between the rows of floor spikes, and too short to be hit by the lowest level coming from the walls.

Still, it was a long walk for the short rodent, and he was so drained, he felt like he was walking the last mile to his execution, as if he'd just, collapse after this. He wasn't even sure why he was continuing, it's not like he was walking to his freedom. Rather he was approaching their final battle, with an opponent so obscenely strong they'd only just had a chance to begin with, and after all they'd been through it would be a slaughter.

Still, Zone thought, if he could just, get to the end of this damned, long hall, at least he could say he made it all the way. That was enough to keep him going, the thought of spiting that bitch by daring to survive every single thing she'd put them through. That, and at least ending it in the company of friends, kept him putting one paw in front of the other, focused on moving forwards in a straight line, step by step closer to the end…

----

Reiko was not one to pray easily, but as the watery vessel that brought him here faded, he hoped almost religiously the secret mission did not involve combat.

When nothing gouged out the floored vampire's back, he slowly raised his head. The room he was in was deserted, himself obviously excluded, and he breathed a gentle sigh of relief.

He was in a decent-sized area, the size of a smallish flat perhaps. The walls were a faded sort of white, and besides himself there were a number of strange objects occupying it. They were stone discs roughly a metre in diameter, standing upright as if balanced on their edges. On one side they were slightly convex, while the other had a large pointed crystal coming out of it, glowing with white light. Two of these were held by half goat and half man statues, while the rest floated freely with no visible means of support. The devices faced different directions, all on the horizontal plane, and one belonging to a statue was emitting a beam of light.

It clicked in Reiko's mind that what he was looking at, was a puzzle. He had to get the light from one statue to the other. It appeared that when the beam hit a device, no matter from what facing, it would be redirected the way it was pointing.

Getting to his feet unsteadily, Reiko walked up to the nearest pointer and carefully pushed it. It didn't move an inch, which confirmed his suspicion that he couldn't manipulate them; that would make it far too simple. He was probably meant to surgically destroy certain ones to clear a path for the light to reach certain nodes.

Walking around the room, he analysed the pattern, and tried to form a bird's eye picture in his mind of their layout. It was hard as his attention was foggy and he had to keep half a mind on not stumbling as he walked around. Moving between them he began tracing a line back from his target, reasoning it would cut down on possible routes. He traced it to one node, and then another, another, then, he couldn't find a way to the start.

Rubbing his eyes, Reiko focused and retraced his steps, taking a different path, ignoring certain ones since he could destroy them. He got so far, and again hit a dead-end. Pacing around more frantically now he tried another combination, and another, but nothing worked.

Reiko growled in frustration, believing he was overlooking something basic. It was a simple puzzle, one he should easily be able to solve even if he was fatigued. But no matter how he looked at it, it refused to work.

Groaning in exasperation, the vampire slumped down against a wall, feeling suddenly hopeless, having no idea how to complete the puzzle. Some rubble fell onto his shoulder, and he brushed it off absent-mindedly.

Then he stopped, and looked up, wondering where it had come from. Above his head, the wall had several cracks running across it, and even as he shifted to look, a few grains of dust slipped out and sprinkled onto his other shoulder. Rising onto his knees, he looked at the cracks, and spied a flicker of light shine through.

Suddenly it all made sense. Pushing himself to his feet, the vampire threw himself against the wall. It gave a creak, and the cracks spread, but the weakened blow wasn't enough. Pushing himself off, Reiko delivered a boot with all the strength he could, nearly falling over as all his strength at present was vastly worn down.

The barrier creaked and several chunks fell loose, and with a final shoulder ram, it gave way, crumbling as Reiko stumbled back to avoid any of it falling on him. Pulling himself through, he saw another light node, facing down a hall going to the left aimed at one in turn pointing at the wall. Beyond that was a third statue.

Leaning on the nearer object, Reiko hauled his staff out, the weapon feeling heavy in his tired grip. Moving down the hall, he swung it around, and it connected with the impeding pointer, which shattered as if all of it was made of glass. Returning to the main room, he leaned on his staff as he forced his mind to map the path from the original statue to the hidden one, barely able to think anymore, his head a buzzing, sore confusion.

With one last strike, another mirror was destroyed, and the light beam arced through the redesigned system, striking its intended target. Reiko followed it, footfalls slow and weapon dragging as he breathed heavily…

As the vampire reached his final Blue Orb Fragment, so too did Zone get to the end of the long corridor he had been walking, and Arson landed on the top ledge of the room he was in, his own Fragment before him.

They each reached out, touching the floating stones, and as they did, something truly unexpected happened.

A cerulean miasma surrounded Reiko's body, sinking over it like a fine mist, then flashing with energy as it sunk into him. The pulse shocked him like electricity, but as he raised his arms he _couldn't_ believe it, he-…

"I feel… Like new" Zone exclaimed out loud, stunned into speech despite being alone as the glow vanished around him. It was, _unreal_, his body felt totally fine, no pain, and full of energy. Zone grinned wide, and-…

Arson cart-wheeled around on the platform, whooping as he tested himself and found that just like it felt he was in _perfect _condition. He laughed happily, feeling ready to take on anything, as everything went white…

The same happened to Zone and Reiko, the three of them being transported back together having completed their missions. As the light swallowed him, Reiko smiled. "I forgot new Blue Orbs did that" he remarked…


	28. Conflict And Unity

_**Author's Notes:** This is a DMC-based series mixing action, adventure and humour as well as parody which I'm writing both as a gift to my excellent friend bustahead, and a test of my own writing skills. Originally it was hosted on her account but for various reasons we decided it was best I put it up myself, so I made my own account and here it is. This story revolves around a very different threat to the series' cast, and I'll be the first to admit this is a strange work and also know OC-based series are looked down upon by some. All the same I ask hopefully that you give it a chance and even if you don't like it leave a review with some constructive advice so that I may improve, and other than that I hope you enjoy my work.  
_----  
A starry nebulous cascade, this was the world in which they were reunited.

"Reiko, Zone?" Arson asked warily, as if afraid it wasn't really them, but a trick of this phantasmal realm.

"Arson, you're looking well" Zone responded, distracted by the scenery swirling around them. A galaxy of lights was streaming past them, _spiralling_ and _arcing_ into incomprehensibly grand and intricate patterns. It was like they were witnessing the particles of energy that made the portals they'd been using, on the _tiniest_ level. The stream billowed, Arson's hair and Zone's fur wavering, and it felt warm, like sun-touched glass.

"The path we have taken winds into the nexus of the fandom, coiling around the source of the disturbance, _her_. We must be in the lifeblood of the world, we're passing through it on our way to her" Reiko explained, floating a little closer to the others. He reached out and caught one of the streaming wisps as it flew by. It burst into a thousand sparkling drops that streamed through his fingers, feeling like freshest melted snow.

"Then, what's all this?" Arson asked, listening out as he did. There was a whistling all around them, but if he listened closely, it sounded like a whispering. In fact, if he calmed his mind, it became a million voices.

"Inspiration perhaps, potential, ideas, I can't say for sure" Reiko said, noticing the streams were coalescing.

"Potential, huh?" Zone thought out loud. Focusing his mind, he drifted up, none of them standing but rather held afloat by the enigmatic force. Coming about level with the others' shoulders, he reached out and struck one of the lights. The wisp burst into an incandescent nova, surging outwards, then upwards, warping into a halo of azure lightning that exploded against what passed for sky here, scribing infinite patterns in the dark.

"How did you do that?" Arson asked, watching the display in amazement.

"I just, imagined something incredible, and it was that… And it happened" Zone replied, surprised himself.

"I think, anyone can do it, this energy gives life to dreams" Reiko theorised. Raising his hand, he touched another one himself, letting his thoughts flow this time, unlike before when his mind had been organised, analytical. The miniscule star shimmered and rippled outwards, becoming moonlight reflected on water's disturbed surface, countless slivers of liquid light undulating all around them. Arson tried it, reaching out and gently grasping another flicker. The moment he squeezed in his hand, it erupted into light, rays of sun-shaded iridescence lancing out, spearing into Reiko's shining current, and forming whirlwinds of rainbows.

"This is, powerful stuff" the hybrid whispered, his eyes wide with awe.

"Sure is" Zone agreed, gazing at the amalgamation of their influences, shimmering spectrums swept against a tapestry of pulsing sapphire patterns sewn into deepest obsidian. Then he remembered something, "Hey, I feel fine, like after I finished the last mission, it was as if all my pain and fatigue just vanished, and you two _also_ seem to have recovered. How did that happen?".

"It was the Blue Orbs. Each secret mission yields one Fragment, and four Fragments make a whole Orb, so, that is three Orbs, one for each of us. They marginally augment your vitality, enough to take one more deep wound for example, but when you first gain a new one, it also totally restores your health" Reiko answered.

There was a pause as the other two absorbed this, and then Zone suddenly burst out laughing, "Hahahaha! I can't believe it, an _actual_ lucky break, that's insane".

"Neat, that _is_ cool!" Arson enthused in agreement, a broad smile slapped on his face. "So like now we have a fair chance at beating Mary Sue, right?" he half-asked, half-encouraged.

"Yes, but, still just one chance, and I think we've almost arrived. Lets do this together, yeah?" Reiko asked.

"Yeah!" Arson and Zone replied together, the three drifting together as the light intensified to pure white…

----

A dark scene was playing out on the sovereign and arcane alter of chaos at the heart of the Temen-Ni-Gru. Beneath a hundred leering stone faces, Mary Sue took malicious delight in forcing the sons of Sparda to do her bidding, in her own tradition of disregarding the characters of others.

Unto this travesty a shining light beamed unexpectedly, interrupting proceedings, much to the relief of two of the three present. A column of pure energy rushed up from the floor like a geyser, illuminating the room brightly for a few brief moments, and then dissipating to leave Arson, Reiko, and Zone in its wake, the last of who fell to the floor with a tiny thud, since he had been level with the other's shoulders, landing upright.

There was a heavy silence, the two groups staring at each other in speechless amazement. Dante and Vergil were surprised to see the unlikely heroes _again_, as was Mary Sue, only she was also angered. Meanwhile the newcomers were shocked, horrified and appalled by the scene, which for the sake of the reader's sanity we won't elaborate on, that they had interrupted. Let us just say it was non-consensual and go no further.

The silence grew pensive, tense, strained. Then it broke, "I remember defeating you, and you not only lack the common courtesy to die but now have the audacity to come and challenge me again?" Mary Sue spoke.

She received no reply; her audience still mutely captivated by what Vergil and Dante had, against their will, been doing, and were now stuck paused in the middle of. Arson gently nudged Reiko, "Is that even _allowed_ on fanfiction?" he asked, to which he got a shrug in answer, the vampire not knowledgeable in, such things.

"**_ANSWER ME!_**" Mary Sue screamed so loud it was almost underlined too. Throwing her arm back, black tendrils of negative power flew towards and enveloped Dante and Vergil, which at least granted them some decency. They were swiftly consumed in an obsidian sphere, which was in turn levitated to reside inside the dress, which doubled as a bell, of a fallen angel statue hanging from the ceiling.

With the embarrassing distraction removed, it was easier for the trio to focus on their adversary. Zone did what he usually did next, and broke the ice with a completely inappropriate comment, "Hey, I just noticed, that angel has a bell-end up her dress" he remarked with a smirk. Arson blushed and Reiko shook his head.

"Why are you here?!" Mary Sue hissed, seething at them furiously, refusing to let her questions be ignored.

Reiko opened his mouth to give a formal reply, hesitated, and then just spoke his mind. "We're here to stop you. I know we failed before, but we've grown and become more, and plan to put an end to your parasitical infestation" he answered, drawing his staff and pointing it at her in challenge. With a hiss of fire and a hum of energy, Arson and Zone likewise readied their weapons.

"_Original characters_, you're like insects, pests that just don't know when to die" Mary Sue spat with naked contempt. But despite her harsh words, she was clearly fairly irritated. The three that opposed her had dared show a flicker of _actual_ resistance before, and now, it turned out, had also survived her attempt to kill them.

Conversely the trio were more composed, more sure and unified than before. Forged of shared experiences, they had a bond found together, and tempered through their continued unity despite all adversity. Now, that strength was about to be put to the _greatest_ test of all.

"Maybe, but these insects were enough to eliminate your minions" was Reiko's measured, factual response.

Mary Sue's look changed to one of amusement, "So, you defeated the Puppet Master, Blind Seer and Wild Card? I knew you would, I made sure you got this far so the game would be more fun for me" she smirked.

"Wasn't she like, enraged and surprised we got here a minute ago?" Zone asked with typical lack of refrain.

"Yeah, she was, no character continuity at all" Arson replied, shaking his head in theatrical disappointment.

"**_HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME?!?!?!_**" Mary Sue thoroughly raped the punctuation, throwing her hand up to summon her sword and massacre these belligerent scum, temper blazing with over-romanticised passion.

As the crimson blade materialised, the hybrid, vampire and hamster looked at one another. _This was it_, they knew. Whereas last time they fought they had been unsure, divided, and lacking in drive, they now had new confidence, trusted one another, and knew exactly what they fought for. They could _still_ lose and could still die, but now they were sure of themselves, and of _each other_. It showed, even in how they didn't indulge in much pre-fight banter, confident enough to disregard the standard repartee, to not play along and rather just be themselves. They were far from invincible, but they knew that if they fought together they had a _chance_.

Reiko breathed out slowly, calming and focusing, easing into a combat stance, "OK, this is it Arson, Zone".

Zone gave a couple of flash spins of his lightsabre, grinning confidently and eagerly, "Yeah, let's end this".

Arson nodded, bouncing from foot to foot while shadowboxing a flurry of punches, "This is gonna be fun".

In each other they had found more strength than in themselves alone. Now how much strength, and whether it was enough or not would be learned, as they charged Mary Sue together, who ran to meet their challenge.

Reiko's staff clashed with the bloody sword, the vampire immediately forced on the defensive as Mary Sue tore into him with a furious flurry of slashes. Reiko defended as best he could, but she managed to break his guard and struck out for his chest, only for Dragon to intercept her swing.

Phoenix arced towards the back of her head, but her weapon had already reversed to cover that angle, the immaculate warrior trading blows with Arson, who was able to at least hold even temporarily thanks to his twin blades. Mary Sue's sword swept low and caught one of the flaming swords, bringing it up and round to parry the second too, as she spun and somersaulted out of the path of a burst of laser, flipping over Arson and kicking him in the back forwards, sending him stumbling forwards.

As the hybrid tripped, Zone ran between his legs and leapt upwards at the exposed back of their enemy, lightsabre raised, but she turned on a dime as she landed and slashed out horizontally, parrying the attack and Zone with it. Sent flying, the hamster fired a laser burst, reversing his direction in the blink of an eye and flying towards Mary Sue for a follow-up attack while her weapon was still out to the side. She was forced to step back to bring him into her weapon's arc, as she hastily swung her blade up and launched Zone vertically, the rodent meeting the red blade with his own, surviving but disorientated by the impact.

The hamster peaked in his ascent and tumbled back down, too dizzy to orientate himself and get clear of the danger with a laser burst. Mary Sue went to finish him off, but a descending staff turned her uppercut into a parry, Reiko leaping over Arson to intercept the attack. The hybrid jumped up as well and threw his weight into the deadlock, the additional inertia repelling Mary Sue skidding back across the stone surface.

There was a momentary pause as the opponents were separated, in which Zone dropped out of the air and rather than being met with a blade, Reiko caught him neatly. Given a chance to regain his bearings, Zone cleared his head with a shake, and then gave a nod of thanks, jumping off to the ground beside his friends.

"Well, we're doing better, than last time" Reiko remarked, his breath a little heavier than before. He was right too, as although they hadn't actually hit their nemesis, they hadn't suffered any injuries themselves.

"I think, we need to do better still, though" Arson remarked, as although unhurt, such intense combat was draining, their breathing more laboured, while Mary Sue, although infuriated, seemed otherwise unphased.

"Well, Rome wasn't built in a day, right?" Zone chimed in, the dizzying vertigo that had shaken him gone.

"_I'm going to grind you into your composite elements and shatter them to nothing_" Mary Sue promised. A visible aura of crimson energy was pulsating around her as her rage seethed, furious at the audacity of her enemies to mar her perfection by surviving battle with her. Screaming zealously, she literally flew at them.

The trio barely had time to react as she tore across the ground horizontally without touching it in the blink of an eye. Reiko barely avoided a lunging full-body that would have impaled a tank, but even as he moved aside she twisted and lashed out at his torso, sword clashing with staff so hard he was thrown off of his feet.

As he neared the floor, she stepped forwards with inhuman speed and raised her blade to plunge it through him and the floor, nailing the former to the latter. Her sword rose high over her head, but as she down, it was caught by a cross-lock with Dragon and Phoenix. With a cry of anger, Mary Sue spun like a cyclone, throwing Arson to the side as she jarred her sword free of his, continuing round to swat Zone from the air.

Reversing her direction she smacked aside the hybrid's weapons, as he had brought his own momentum round much like she had, but she'd been better at it. As Arson staggered off balance, she thrust forwards, meeting little resistant as her sword ran through his side. Not even pausing to taunt, Mary Sue started dragging the sword up through him, but was forced to halt as she caught Reiko's weapon in her hand.

Yanking the blade out, she swung around and slashed across his front, cutting a deep wound against the defenceless vampire, his staff trapped. Kicking him away, she looked up in time to see Zone descending toward her head rapidly, having been riding Reiko's shoulder and leapt up from him for a combined attack.

Her sword flashed up, and determined to finish the pesky hamster off once and for all, she clipped him with one swipe, and then reversed it, her blade cutting into soft flesh and fur as Zone was hacked away from her.

As Zone sailed through the air, he was painfully aware of the gaping hole that wasn't so much in the side of him as it almost rendered him cut in two. However even as he experienced the excruciating sensation of his insides not staying inside, a blue glow radiated over him, the pain rapidly fading as his body repaired itself.

He landed on all four paws, and ran one of them through the stainless fur where a large portion of him was missing only a second ago, gaping in utter disbelief. Reiko, who was nearby, staggering to his feet after the painful wound he had received, saw this and explained through gritted teeth, "It was the Blue Orb, it healed the damage, but its energy is probably drained, now".

Zone gave a slow nod of comprehension, still shocked that he was alive. "One-time deal, eh?" he said, less than disappointed, since he'd otherwise be dead, though he'd still experienced the pain of being cut in half.

Arson had managed to rise and stagger away from Mary Sue to join them. Their Blue Orbs had also healed both him and Reiko, but the effect was less noticeable, whereas since Zone's body was tiny, his wound was totally reversed. Still, the vampire's deep gouge had been reduced to a mere flesh wound, and the worst that the hybrid had suffered was dealt with, life-threatening injuries to internal organs undone, though there was still moderate damage round where the blade went in.

"That didn't go so well" Reiko said, watching warily as Mary Sue stalked towards them, a slow, implacable advance matched by her merciless expression.

"… Any ideas?" Zone asked tentatively, open to suggestions.

"We need to create an opening, not try to land a hit ourselves, but make opportunities for each other" Arson said. His expression was focused, serious, no trace of his normal, light-hearted demeanour about the hybrid.

The other two nodded, seeing the sense in this strategy, and as Mary Sue came within a half-dozen paces of them, Arson led the attack. Channelling his power into his swords, he swung Dragon round, sending a band of horizontal, roaring flames towards Mary Sue. Barely breaking her stride, she leapt up over the attack, but the hybrid turned with his swing, and brought Phoenix up, a vertical column of fire racing toward his target.

Mary Sue lurched to the side as the pillar swept past her by means unknown, but Reiko and Zone followed the attack on either side, Mary Sue moving towards the vampire. As she dropped, Reiko swung up and was blocked, sword and staff locking as she landed. He wasn't to attack and her overwhelming strength brought him to his knees in a moment, but so occupied she was barely able to avoid Zone's leaping slash at her side.

The rodent sailed past her as she twisted away, Zone cursing as he'd been an inch from landing a blow. Her foot rose up to kick him out of the air, but was caught by Reiko's hand. With only one arm resisting her, his staff instantly gave way to her sword, but as it descended towards his head, was caught by Dragon, Phoenix rising a split-second later to smack her weapon away.

Mary Sue stumbled back slightly, and, seeing their opportunity, Arson, Reiko and Zone, all balanced, ready and united right in front of her, attacked. Arson leapt forwards and struck out with one sword that Mary Sue blocked it, but as his second hit her hastily erected guard buckled and she barely stumbled out of the path of a powerful laser beam aimed right at her head, her blade swinging to clumsily parry Reiko's incoming staff.

Then it happened. Reiko reversed his attack and locked his weapon with hers, holding it to the side so that she was left vulnerable. She strained to break it free, and it only took a moment to overcome the vampire's strength, but in that moment Arson and Zone acted, the hybrid unleashing a torrent of fire as Zone let loose with a massive blast of laser energy from below and in front of him. The two attacks melded into a surging, roaring inferno of heat and light, erupting forth and smashing into Mary Sue as Reiko backed off before she could dodge, barely having time to see the onslaught.

The attack consumed her whole, the uber-warrior screaming furiously as she was enveloped. With a mighty explosion of crimson energy the entire room was shaken, and when the dust finally settled nothing was left.

"H-hey, did we _win_?" Zone said, blinking in surprise.

"… It, appears so" Reiko commented, looking at the smoking ground where their nemesis previously stood.

"Phew, it's about time! She was _hard_" Arson sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from his brow. He had put a _lot_ of energy into the fight, _especially_ his final attack.

The trio relaxed, smiled; it was over. Or so it seemed.

Suddenly a powerful rumbling shook the room, making them stumble where they stood. With a deep roar, a bloody red portal ripped itself into existence where Mary Sue had fallen. From within its depths malevolent eyes glowed, a dark, large shape becoming apparent, and moving forwards, slowly emerging into the room.

"I should've guessed" Zone sighed as he turned his lightsabre on again. "Final bosses _always_ have multiple forms" the rodent said as he, Reiko and Arson backed away and regrouped, waiting to see this new threat…


	29. Truth In Fiction

_**Author's Notes:** I know people are probably busy celebrating New Year's in company, but since I have none of the usual kind, I'm spending it with those in my head, hehe XD. This is the penultimate chapter, I'll try and do the epilogue as quickly as I can.  
_----  
Things had reached the point where one would usually say, all Hell has broken loose. In this case though, what was breaking loose was actually the thing _preventing_ literally all Hell breaking loose. Suffice to say, things looked bad. The mysterious the creature was still emerging from the newly formed blood red portal.

"Tedious loading sequence" Arson remarked, who for all the severity of the situation was bored of waiting.

"Unloading sequence would be more accurate, I reckon" Reiko corrected habitually, not thinking about it.

Zone was about to chip in when the beast finally broke through, crossing the threshold between dimensions in a spray of dark red liquid as it ruptured the barrier. A massive claw crashed onto the stone floor, another just like it following behind. Dragging itself out of the arcane gateway, a gargantuan beast came through.

Looking part demonic, and part insectoid, its shape resembled a cross between a wolf and a scorpion. Four-legged but heavy and lumbering, its black carapace was segmented over the back and highlighted blood red in places, such as the tips of the down-turned, bull-like horns on its head, framing its three red slit-like eyes.

"Those eyes… She must be related to Sparda" Reiko deduced, as the creature turned round to glare at them.

"She _would be_, she's Mary Sue" Zone replied with astute derision.

"So, guys… How do we fight this thing?" asked Arson, showing a mix of seriousness and concern now the waiting was over, as Mary Sparda, who was roughly the size of a small school bus, lumbered towards them.

As the monstrous beast barrelled at them roaring Reiko hurriedly scanned his mind for a response, but they knew _nothing_ of their opponent. As it closed in he shouted "It's probably strong but seems slow, be careful and try to find a weak point!". The three of them evaded different ways as it crashed through their position.

Lurching to the left, it went after Arson, the hybrid sprinting to the edge of the elevated middle of the room before turning and raising his swords. Mary Sparda charged towards him and brought one giant claw round to smash him from his feet. Arson ducked aside of the heavy swing, and as the limb passed him he cried out with determination and slashed Dragon into its tough surface.

The flaming blade bit into the solid carapace armour, but barely did any damage, and Mary Sparda didn't even flinch as it swung its other arm around at him. Arson braced himself, but all his strength only served to marginally dampen the blow as he was hurled back to crash against the wall, cracking it. "She's, _really _tough now" he coughed as he dropped to the floor.

Reiko and Zone meanwhile had circled round, and just as the monster smacked Arson away, Reiko jumped onto its back. Bringing his staff down with all the inertia he had, he hammered against the hard shell, but he barely tarnished it, let alone caused meaningful harm.

Growling in aggravation, Mary Sparda bucked and threw the vampire off to the side. He landed with a roll as it turned to face him, narrowly stepping back out of reach of a claw swipe. Zone meanwhile was still on its back, having mounted just after Reiko with a laser boost, hanging onto the ridged carapace. Figuring his lightsabre had the most cutting power he stabbed down at the solid armour.

The energy blade met resistance, but succeeded in piercing the shell, distracting the monster long enough for Reiko to smack it in the side of the face with his staff, hoping it might be less armoured. However he only succeeded in forcing its head to the side a little, and pissing it off, as it retaliated by head butting the jumping vampire out of the air.

Meanwhile, Zone was slashing up its back, able to penetrate its tough hide, but doing damage on such a tiny scale that he wasn't causing any actual harm. It was like trying to cause mass-deforestation with one axe. Mary Sparda bucked and kicked to try and throw him off, but the nimble hamster had too solid of a hold and too little weight to be dismounted. After several moments the demon resorted to leaping up and smashing its back into the ceiling. Zone felt it lurch upwards and was able to blast himself off just in time.

As he sailed back the hamster fired a second blast into its exposed underside, which was usually not as well protected as the rest of a monster. The beam struck the belly of the beast, and scorched a visible mark, but nothing else, having all the effect of a _cigarette burn_.

"We're running out of spots to try" he said to Reiko as he landed, the vampire running past him to the fray.

"She can't be _invincible_" Reiko answered without breaking stride. Then remembering who he was talking about, he realised she actually _might_, but dropped that train of thought as his head hurt from the encounter of the _bone-jarring_ kind it'd had with that monster's.

Meanwhile Arson was trying a different approach. Charging his power into Phoenix, he drew back his arm and threw an intense wave of fire at the demon's side. The attack impacted with a minor explosion, and left the creature's armour blackened, but failed to draw blood. "Nothing works!" he cried out in frustration, but it didn't last long as the monster turned to him and roared, black shadows swirling in its huge, gaping maw.

"Oh shoot" Arson muttered, barely having time to see the irony in his choice of words as Mary Sparda fired a giant sphere of darkness at him. Throwing himself at the floor, the blast of shadowy energy flew over his head so close that it tore through the back of his coat, ripping it into two before exploding against the wall.

Scrambling to his feet, Arson stared in mixed relief and disbelief as the two halves of his coat slipped down his arms. "How comes the heroes have such severe wardrobe malfunctions?" he lamented his favourite coat as he shrugged off the ruined pieces, incidentally showing off his athletic young body. During this time the beast had turned on the others, narrowly failing to crush Zone as he darted out from under the _massive_ limb.

Reiko thrust his staff up into its throat while it was preoccupied, but even _that_ seemed to be fully-armoured. As it tried to grab the vampire, Zone took careful aim and fired a powerful shot right into its forehead, but although it stunned it for a moment, in the end it did little but infuriate the monster. Sweeping its heavy arm at them in rage, it swatted Reiko back, his ribs creaking under the blow, and although it went over Zone's, the sheer wind force blew him back too.

The vampire hit the ground and rolled for a bit, Zone flying right into his side with a grunt on the hamster's part, too dizzy to even tell which way was up. Reiko tried to rise, but that last hit had really winded him, his ribcage on fire. Intending to finish them off, Mary Sparda opened her mouth, but as she fired Arson crashed into the side of her head, hacking at her frenziedly in midair. He managed to divert the blast to one side, but in return was snatched from the air by a lunging claw. Instantly feeling a crushing sensation, he tried to pry it off him, but the demon was far stronger than him, and hacking at its hand failed to make it let him go too.

Squeezing viciously, Mary Sparda attempted to crush the teenager in its grip, feeling his body slowly give way under the immense pressure. However it didn't want to give the others the chance to save him, already sick of them surviving, and opening its mouth, it raised him to bite him in half. Squirming and gasping for air, which was being squeezed from his lungs, Arson looked into the creature's maw, but it was just as well armoured in there as outside. As it brought him close, he desperately stabbed out with Phoenix, into its eye.

Rearing up as the burning sword sunk into its slit-like eye, Mary Sparda screamed in rage, but also in pain. Her grip loosened as she was distracted, and straining, Arson broke free and dropped to the floor, stumbling as he did. "Its eyes-!" he called out, but before he could say anything more, it honed in on the sound of his voice and smashed him clean across the room, winding him as he hit the far wall yet again, slumping down.

Leaving him for dead for the moment Mary Sparda turned to the two vermin nearer it, its left and right eyes still functioning fully. Reiko had pulled himself back to his feet but was still hurting from the last blow, and as Mary Sparda attacked he struggled to evade, hastily dodging and being hounded back, toward the wall. It didn't take long for him to run out of room, and he was subsequently pinned against the stone, Mary Sparda trapping his arms in her grip, so that he couldn't retaliate against its eyes, leaning down to bite his head off.

The monster's head leaned in so close that Reiko could _taste_ its putrid breath, the vampire powerless to free himself. It opened its mouth to end his life, and a blur of orange leapt onto his shoulder. "Surprise, bitch!" Zone shouted, firing a laser blast straight into her left eye, then her right one a moment later. Mary Sparda reared back clawing at her face, recoiling in agony, now completely blinded, dropping Reiko to the ground.

As Reiko staggered to his feet and Arson approached them from the other side Mary Sparda stumbled back completely sightlessly. Zone was grinning with satisfaction and relief, believing they'd seriously weakened their enemy, when something happened. With a biological rasping, Mary Sparda's segmented back shifted, then split apart, turning out to be armoured wing-shields, which arched up, revealing what was underneath.

Only Arson was in a position to really see what happened next, being behind the monster. From his point of view, the wing casing exposed a depression in the creature's body, which bizarrely enough housed a sphere of glowing white energy. With a crackle, the portal through which the monster had come discharged a thick pillar of darkness that arced into the orb, crackling as Mary Sparda fed off of the supply of negative energy.

The hybrid watched this with growing despair, as the monster's few wounds began to visibly heal, the few tarnishes to its carapace being erased. Its eyes were being restored too, although Arson didn't know of this particular detail, but he knew he had to do something. Summoning his strength, he ran and leapt at the orb, landing below it and scrambling up.

Dragon lashed out at the ball but impacted against an invisible barrier that shimmered but didn't give way, ten floating runes around its perimeter flaring as it did. Lashing out at one of these instead, the hybrid drove Phoenix right through it shattering the symbol, the shield fluctuating as he did so. Mary Sparda sensed this, and tried to throw him off, Arson managing to destroy a second and third rune before he was knocked into the incoming negative energy, cried out in pain, and was hurled off.

Landing with a thud, Arson looked up to see Reiko standing over him, offering him a hand up, Zone on his shoulder. "Hey guys, how're you doing?" the hybrid asked as he was helped to his feet.

"I've felt better" Reiko said with a wince, his whole torso aching.

"And I'm running low" Zone added, referring both to being worn out from chasing, climbing, dodging and being blown about by Mary Sparda, and his laser, which was half empty.

"I think, I know, how to hurt her…" Arson panted, short of breath.

"The eyes yeah we heard ya, we got the other two" Zone answered with a small smile, glad for that at least.

"No, not that, she, healed herself" Arson explained, looking back to see that the monster's face was indeed back in perfect, ass-ugly condition. Seeing Zone's hopeful grin crash he quickly continued, "But she did it by opening her back and absorbing, energy-stuff from the portal, into this, glowing ball, which is shielded, but, there's some runes around it, I think they power the shield, there's ten, I got, three" he stopped for air.

Zone processed this, looking from Arson to Reiko. "_Great_, he ran out of breath just _explaining_ it!" he cried.

"At least we know what to aim for. All we have to do is _reach_ it" the vampire responded, as Mary Sparda's healing completed, the lumbering beast wasting no time in charging towards them full of raging vengeance.

"I can reach it" Arson said, pulling himself together, and rushing to meet the charging demon. He leapt up as they drew together, swinging his sword round to stab through the middle eye, but Mary Sparda wasn't so easily caught out twice, and it turned its head to the side, the blade deflecting off of solid carapace. Rearing its head up as it advanced, it head butted Arson over its back like a bull, turning to punch him out of the air. As the clenched fist arced round, Arson channelled fire through his blades and with a jet of flame propelled himself over the blow, but, was unable to react in time to stop the second claw slamming him into the floor.

Arson's vision darkened and blurred as the ground cracked beneath him. The giant demon stood over him, and raised its huge fist to deliver a crushing blow when a blast of crimson struck its hand, knocking it to the side. Turning to drive the others away, sure that Arson was out of it for good now, Mary Sparda was caught off-guard as Reiko threw his staff like a javelin, spearing with pinpoint precision into its central eye. As the creature cried out, the vampire continued to sprint towards it and leapt up and grabbed the staff intending to use it as leverage to finish off its remaining two eyes.

Reiko's weight on pulling on the buried staff however gave him away, and before he could attack, he was grabbed and yanked away, taking his weapon with him. Overcome by rage, Mary Sparda hurled him right up into the ceiling, crashing against the rough stone forms jutting out with a cry of agony before dropping back down to the floor before it.

Mary Sparda reached down to grind him to a pulp, both Reiko and Arson too beaten to move. As it did so though a blast of energy burned its cheek. "Damn it" Zone cursed, having missed his targets and only attracted its attention, the rodent standing mere metres in front of it, having got as close as he could for the best shot possible. Mary Sparda snarled, and stepped forwards to crush the last of these vermin, and as a last desperate ploy, Zone rushed to meet it.

A claw that the hamster could vanish in hundreds of times over careered towards him, and without breaking stride he fired a blast at the floor, shooting himself over the lunging arm. The second arm came round, but he shot over that as well, then the monster's ugly head attempted to swallow him out of the air. Rancidness that made him nauseous washed over Zone, but he managed to focus enough to shoot into the teethed abyss and push himself back out of harm's way, though he did none himself.

Not knowing that the puny, evasive furball had moved, Mary Sparda snapped its mouth shut, thinking him dead. Thanks to overuse of his laser, though, Zone was still alive, although his nose wished it were dead. Holding it with one paw and his laser in the other, he used the last of his energy to take out both of the eyes that were point blank in front of him.

With a roar of unbridled rage at being outdone _again_, Mary Sparda swung furiously to try and smash Zone from the air, but it had no idea where he was blinded, the rodent dropping back to the ground awkwardly as he was totally out of laser energy, and as good as unarmed against the behemoth. "Arson! Reiko! _Come on_! She's blind, now's our chance!" he yelled to the others, accidentally giving away his position.

Mary Sparda hammered down at the source of the noise, and lacking the energy to shoot himself away, Zone whimpered "Oh shit", and scrambled as fast as his tiny paws would carry him, barely getting a half-dozen paces before the arm smashed down at the monster's best guess of his location. It missed, by barely a foot, but Zone was still sent flying by the sheer force of the blow, bouncing and rolling across the floor.

Mary Sparda stamped around trying to finish its opponents off, but having no idea where they were, it was forced to open its back to heal itself, not wanting to give them the chance to recover. Reiko distantly heard the crackling of the arc of energy, somewhere in his addled mind knowing what it implied. He could barely think at all, but an instinctual spark of determination lingered in him, and with a tormented groan he forced himself to sit up, leaning on his staff then pushing himself to a stand.

Seeing light before him, he didn't so much run as stumble towards it, giving a weak jump and clambering up the creature's back. Every single movement _burned_, but he climbed up, tenaciously hauling himself up to the sphere as Mary Sparda felt him, and started to buck to throw him off.

Reiko lurched and swayed on its back, being thrown about like a rag doll, but he hung on for dear life with single-minded determination to finish it, lifting his weapon and striking a rune, destroying it. That was all that went through his head at that point, keep hanging on, lift, and strike, hang on, lift, strike, again and again, he heaved with all he had to keep holding on and keep shattering the binding runes. He took down two, and a third, just four left, and then just three… Just two… Then a giant hand reached round as he swung out to the side, dragging him off.

Bringing the vampire in front of him, Mary Sparda couldn't see who it was holding, whether it was Arson or Reiko, but it didn't _care_. It had managed to throw him to the side and reach back to catch him, then yank the scum off of its back, and now it was going to snap him in _two_. Grabbing the torso of the dangling Reiko in its other hand, it gave a roar of fury as it lifted him up to break him in half, and then its voice choked out.

Holding onto Dragon and Phoenix, Arson floated behind Mary Sparda on white-winged feathers, otherwise completely unsupported, the fragments of the last two runes disintegrating around his blades. "Leave… My friends, alone" he whispered, looking drained even in his angelic state. With a sharp jerk, he yanked out the swords and drifted back to the floor, his wings folding then fading away like snow swept away by the wind.

Mary Sparda convulsed, dropping Reiko and stumbling backwards, trying in utter futility to reach back to the sphere inside it. The barrier containing it faded, and the globe of light began to fluctuate, Mary Sparda thrashing in sync with it as it destabilised. The beam of darkness being drawn into it began to quicken and bulge, more and more energy pouring into the spasm-wracked demon as the orb sunk into its body. Cracks started appearing over its skin, light shining through them, the armoured monster being covered in a criss-crossing network of jagged lines. Then with a final roar, the entire blood-red portal was sucked into it, and it trembled, bloated obscenely, and finally shattered like a mirror.

Arson bore witness to this display, kneeling and gasping for breath, even his angelic transformation taxed in restoring his strength after being half-crushed to death against the floor. He watched as the darkness spilt all over the room like a liquid, falling right through him, Reiko and Zone, although he felt nothing as it did so, and thus he paid it no heed. Rising unsteadily to his feet, he looked over to Reiko, who was sprawled on his back, but had managed to raise his head, and then to Zone, who was slowly walking over to them both.

"_Please_ tell me its over now" the hamster half-begged as he stopped by Reiko, Arson walking over to them.

"I certainly hope it is" Reiko said, wincing as Arson helped him rise to a sit.

"Me too, cus I am _spent_" Zone again referred to his depleted weapon and exhaustion, slumping against Reiko's leg. "Hey, great job Arson" he said with a weary but sincere smile to the teenager.

"Oh it was-" Arson cut himself off from saying nothing, "… _Worth _it, thanks" he replied with a smile back.

"No problem, so… Now what?" Zone asked as Arson pulled Reiko up, silently wishing that he could assist.

"Getting out of here, would be a good start" Reiko suggested as Arson supported him and helped him walk.

"Yeah, good point" Zone nodded, "I can't wait to leave this all behind". He glanced behind them in gesture as he said this, and his eyes widened, "Oh, shit, guys, MOVE!".

Hearing the dire urgency in the hamster's voice, Arson threw himself and Reiko forwards, twisting to land on his back as he did so. Behind him he saw two shadow-like men lurching towards them like zombies. At first he thought they were just standing close together, but then he noticed one was holding the other up; in fact, it was him and Reiko.

"Damn it, not this _again_!" Arson turned his head as Zone cursed, jumping back from a shadowy-hamster walking wearily towards him. Lashing out more out of frustrating than any kind of plan, he was surprised and pleased when the doppelganger disintegrated around his lightsabre. "That worked, pretty well" he said, and then remembering something, he dashed forwards and turned, another shadow-him slashing at the spot he'd just been standing exactly like he had attacked only a moment ago. Then in melted back into the floor.

Meanwhile, Arson had picked Reiko up again, but he had to push them separate ways as their afterimages leapt to the floor at them from the side, coming from an unexpected angle. Reiko staggered but fought for and managed to keep his balance, swinging his staff in a wide circle and killing the shadow that stumbled after him without even seeing it. Arson watched it disintegrate into the air, while the ones that had tried to jump on them simply melded into the floor. "You have to hit these ones I think!" he shouted to the others.

"Yeah! But they appear from different directions!" Zone answered, hacking down one, and then jumping to avoid the next wherever it came from, landing behind it as it went under him and stabbing through its head. He ducked low and when the next one copied his last attack, it went over him and he wiped it out with ease.

Reiko was finding both these things out as he was forced to play a memory and guessing game with the focus for neither, making measured strikes so he could avoid them himself when the next one came and trying to stay alert for where it came from. Arson's approach was a bit more headstrong and a couple of them clipped him, causing that same coldness the Blind Seer's had, but he gritted his teeth and adapted.

"I don't have the _patience_ for this!" Zone yelled in aggravation. His technique was becoming more and more sloppy, although it wasn't due to lack of patience, but exhaustion. Stumbling away from a shadow that he barely dispatched he fell onto his behind as another swung hastily towards him. Raising his laser instinctively, he mashed the controls desperately, but the weapon was depleted. The copy of him lashed wickedly at his head, and then as it touched the weapon, it broke apart, and was swallowed into the gun.

Zone blinked in surprise, and blinked again just to make sure he was seeing right. Bringing the weapon to his face, he checked the reading, and saw that a small quantity of energy had been stored. A slow, wicked grin crossed his furry muzzle. "Payback is _my_ bitch" he said, jumping to his feet with renewed motivation and turning round. When the next copy of himself rose out of the floor, like a stone falling into water, but backwards, he pointed his gun at it, and as soon as it got close it was absorbed into the weapon as energy.

In fact, he got so much energy that his weapon was fully charged after a couple of minutes. Since he wanted to keep killing them off easily though, Zone allowed some of the energy to freely vent from his weapon, not wanting to actually fire it since that meant the next shadow would shoot at him. As he did, though, rather than drifting away and dissipating, he noticed it circle around him and take on a bluish tint.

Pausing to take out another shadow, he shut off the vent, and watched as the growing bubble of energy expanded off of him suddenly, unleashing an expanding sphere of energy that destroyed the next shadow coming after him. Thinking quickly, he leapt away as the act was repeated nearby, cutting through a few more enemies before trying it again. This time, he let the energy accumulate, and then touched it. Doing this caused it to travel down his arm and into his body. As it did, he felt a small surge of energy fill him.

Zone didn't know quite what was going on, but he guessed his Blue Orb was holding the energy discharged around it, since when it was vented it was neutral and harmless, otherwise it would be dangerous. Then it could be absorbed into the Orb and subsequently, him, if he touched it, although it was a very inefficient transfer rate it seemed, since he'd only gotten a minor boost by venting enough power to punch through a wooden plank. On the other paw, if he didn't touch it, it was discharged as raw energy, having a damaging and repulsive effect due to being built up past a harmless intensity. He was, quite happy, more or less right.

"Haha, useful" he remarked, continuing to absorb the shadows and then absorb their energy into himself. It was a very small healing factor, and was only slowing his tiring, rather than reversing it, but, it still helped.

Arson and Reiko continued to battle their own foes as Zone vacuumed around himself for power. As the fight waged on, the darkness seemed to be using itself up, drying up as it was destroyed or absorbed into Zone's gun, leaving a shiny reflective surface beneath it. It was only a matter of minutes before this new surface became the majority, Reiko and Arson dispelling large quantities of the dark with each blow that they managed to land, while Zone took out a lot less, due to his clones being smaller, but killed more off.

As the shadow warriors hit a drought, Reiko noticed something. The surface they were standing on was odd simply for existing, as it was like a giant mirror. What was even stranger though, and more unsettling, was that it reflected the room entirely, but not them _at all_.

Finally the last of them were despatched, Reiko and Arson leaning forwards and breathing heavily, while Zone smiled at his full tank, but was still panting himself. "Are we there yet?" he asked in a singsong voice, earning himself twin withering looks from the others. "_What_?" he asked, half-expecting that it wasn't over.

He was both to be not disappointed, and very much so.

With a hollow suction-like sound the liquid glass rippled from the centre outwards. The fluctuation reached the edge of the room, and then echoed back in, only it also brought the substance with it. Mounting together in the centre, it formed into a dome, and then a sphere about 3 metres across, and slowly floated into the air.

"Now she's just _showing off_" Arson complained, dead-beat both mentally and physically, still leaning over.

"This is just ridiculous!" Zone screamed in protest, "Two forms is OK, three's company, but this is _wrong_".

"Did we ever stand a _chance_?" Reiko wondered out loud as he slumped onto his knees, leaning on his staff.

As the trio watched on hopelessly, seven tendrils of darkness emerged from the floating orb, which still didn't show their reflections, and sunk into the ground, forming murky pools. From each of these rose a creature, familiar shapes; they were the seven Hells, one for each of the sins, but made of pure shadows.

"I can't take this anymore" Arson growled, his jaw setting tight. Standing up and finding his balance, he advanced towards the nearest Hell, the Hell Pride, also the weakest of them. "Go… Away!" he screamed defiantly, swinging his arm and hurling a desperate wave of fire at the demon. The blade-like attack cut right through the weak creature, but rather than crumbling to sand, it merely reformed, the tentacle that attached to it from the ball pulsating slightly as it did.

"Arson, try the stem" Reiko suggested, pushing himself up very slowly. Arson nodded, but dropped to one knee from tiredness as the Pride advanced on him. It raised his scythe, and as it did so he summoned some tiny pocket of strength and jumped up, hacking through the connecting line. The tentacle writhed in agony then retracted into the orb, the shadow-Pride breaking apart.

"This is so, _tedious_" Zone opined as he dragged himself towards the filler enemies, "I mean, she just _had_ to include the essence of throwaway speed bump encounters didn't she? Bet you this isn't the last one, either".

"Save your breath; if you're right, you'll need it" Reiko reminded as he wobbled towards the group. Arson meanwhile had engaged the Hell Lust, blocking its rushing scythe attack with one sword and stumbling, but holding his ground, and cutting its lifeline with the other. Reiko meanwhile engaged the Hell Sloth, circling it cautiously, watching its movements. When it teleported, he timed his reaction, and with a precise motion parried its blow and redirected the force of it round to sever its stem. Zone caught up with the Envy just as Arson despatched the Gluttony, and the rodent leapt onto the creature's rags and started doggedly climbing, refusing to be caught by the demon's clumsy swipes at him. Reiko took care of the wrath with a struggling leap, cutting its lifeline and sailing past as it blew, stumbling to his knees as he landed, while Arson cut off the Greed, and Zone reached the Envy's tentacle and sever it with his lightsabre, jumping off of it as it died.

"Please tell me that's the end… No more" Zone pleaded, as he dropped onto all fours, rolling onto his back.

"It isn't" Arson whispered, slowly _collapsing_ to a sit.

"It can't be" Reiko agreed looking at the floating orb.

They were right, much as they wished they weren't. Its tendons severed, the silvery surface fluctuated, light starting to shine through it as it shimmered, and then evaporated, leaving behind an iridescent ball of white.

Somewhere out of sight, but within earshot, an orchestra were having the time of their lives with the music.

The light intensified, and then with a flawless supernova, it burst. The trio shielded their eyes, and when they looked again, an angelic figure stood before them. Tall and feminine, yet in a strong way, it was clad in ornamental white armour covering its entire body, with golden energy running up lines decorating body.

"And you are?" Reiko asked, tired past the point of politeness.

"I am Mary Sue's true form, Bianco Angela, the White Angel, secret daughter of Sparda, and the Priestess" she answered. Her voice sounded like it had before, and yet, somehow purer. Less human and more, divine.

"Hah! Daughters of Mundus eat your heart out!" Zone laughed with all the derisiveness as he could muster.

"Do you come with a speech?" Arson asked, actually liking the idea of the break a monologue would grant.

Bianco Angela managed to sneer contemptuously while wearing a face-covering mask, no simple feat. She elegantly raised her hand to her front, and with a pearly glow, summoned her weapon; an angel's wing that served as a giant sword, the perfect feathers as unyielding and razor-edged as the finest, sharpest diamonds.

"A demonic larval form that gives birth to an angelic one with a special wing. I think Sephiroth's gonna sue someone" Zone attacked in the best, and currently, only way he could think to, by ridiculing their opponent.

Bianco Angela glared at him scornfully, and launched into her anticipated speech, "It does not matter what you think for you are nothing but thoughts, delusions, the temporary fascinations of whimsical minds. You dare presume influence when your very existence is a mere fantasy? I am an elemental force of the psyche, part of the sovereign conscious of the people. And you, you are merely _abominations_. How dare you _exist_? Heed my words and know the truth; my existence transcends all borders of knowledge and culture, and the individual even. I am reborn time and again, worlds apart. I am a _part_ of humanity. You are not even _real_."

Her words rung through the battle-worn altar unsettlingly, but her audience were far too exhausted to be moved by words, barely able to move under their own power. "Is it even worth attacking her?" Arson said.

"We have no other choice" Reiko replied, beyond hope now, simply wishing for a miracle. Dragging the end of his staff along the ground, he hefted it, the familiar weight so heavy now, and ran at a staggering charge towards her. Swinging his weapon with all the strength he could, which wasn't his best ever, but still a solid blow, it impacted against the side of her head, the White Angel not making a move to stop it.

Raising her free hand, she casually batted him aside, sending him flying actually inclined upwards from horizontally slightly crashing into the wall. Not even shifting her feet, she threw a ball of white energy, which crashed into Zone's laser blast, 50 of his full reserves, enough strength to seriously wound even one of the sons of Sparda, cancelled out by the casually launched counter. Arson had managed to rise, and putting what shreds of energy he could gather into a fire wave, he slashed it out towards Bianco Angela, dropping to one knee and breathing raggedly as he did so. The torrent of flames flew right at her, and kept on going, the White Angel teleporting behind the hybrid instantly. He barely managed to raise his other sword as she smirked condescendingly, using her own blade, which collided with his, sending him flying.

"Enough of this, accept your destiny" she taunted. "It is your fate to perish, to run dry, to simply exhaust yourselves and fade away into oblivion, like dreams once they are awoken from. People create you, then, they abandon you, when you cease to amuse. Deny it with all your will, it makes no difference, you have seen the graveyard, what waits for you. You are dreams, you are not real. You, are, _nothing_" she intoned.

Raising her wingblade to the ceiling, the White Angel added "Now to purify you into what you are _meant_ to be. _Nothing_". A white light gleamed on the feathers from an unknown source, and then she brought the blade down, and sliced through the very fabric of fiction. The fourth wall, the other three, the ceiling, and the floor too, all was breached, this is a website, you're reading a story about individuals, who don't exist.

"_We've lost…_" Arson whispered, as the world was stripped away around them, as deadly to them as being in space without an air supply is to humans.

"_Actually_…" Reiko said, staring across the divide, a revelation blooming in his mind, "We've almost won".

"Great, Reiko's lost _it_" Zone laughed half-heartedly, wanting to at least go out the way he lived; a smartass.

Rising to his feet with a reserve of strength he shouldn't posses, Reiko looked across the decaying room, to Arson. "Arson… I need you to do something for me" he spoke with a quietness that unnerved the teenager.

"To forgive me" he answered, looking to Zone before the hybrid could ask what he meant. "Zone, when the time comes, I need you to do what you have to" he said. Zone didn't know what he was talking about either but knowing the principle of those words, he nodded.

"Thank you, both of you" Reiko said with pure sincerity. Using his staff as a sort of crutch, he advanced towards Bianco Angela, who regarded him with a mix of surprise and amusement.

"So eager to die?" she asked, raising her sword casually.

"I don't fear death" Reiko replied, stopping several paces from the White Angel.

"Really? Well at least you can learn your place" she shot back nonchalantly.

"My place is here, where I'm needed" he answered, and then, raising his staff, he charged. Bianco Angela laughed at his futile stupidity, allowing him to get so close he almost managed to hit her, not that it would do any good if he did. Then in a flash she lifted her blade and ran it through his torso in one, fluid motion.

"**_REIKO_**!" Arson screamed as a good half of his friend littered the floor around the parts still attached to the giant wingblade. Reiko's body started to go limp as muscles lost their connection, but as a last order, before he lost control, his legs turned and jerked him to the side, throwing him away from Bianco Angela, taking her sword with him, still embedded through his chest. As he fell he mouthed a breathless word. _Now_.

Tears ran down Arson's cheeks, and an overwhelming feeling of sorrow welled up in him, fuelling a desire to see justice done that burned within the hybrid, his eyes glowing white, as angelic wings burst forth from his back. "**_MURDERER_**!" he cried with a thousand voices of outrage, throwing his hands out, twin beams of light too bright to look at bursting from them and enveloping the disarmed Bianco Angela. Forming into an orb of pure energy, which became transparent, Bianco Angela imprisoned within, unable to cause harm.

Of course, even without her sword, she would not be trapped their forever, but with an angelic clairvoyance Arson understood Reiko's revelation as if it were his own. Slowly he raised the orb up off the floor, making it drift towards the tear as Bianco Angela beat her armoured fists against the inside. "You keep speaking of, the people…" Arson uttered as dents began to form from the blows.

"Why don't we see what they think?" Zone finished, standing beneath the orb, gun pointed up at it. Without further hesitation, he pulled the trigger, pouring _everything_ into one solid column of pure red energy, which crashed into the orb, splashing around it and launching it into through the rift between worlds.

Trapped within, Bianco Angela continued to pound at her imprisonment, slowly weakening it, but it was too late. With perfect accuracy, the sphere carried its cargo crashing into the Reviews hyperlink above the story. There the shell burst, and Bianco Angela looked around briefly, a slow, inevitable terror falling over her. She rushed to escape, but was cut off, by words. Words surrounded her, thoughts, opinions, feedback.

The essence of the minds of the people she so championed circled her like sharks, observing, judging her.

"You were mistaken about one thing" Zone said as he and Arson watched.

"We're more than just dreams, if people care about us" Arson finished.

Though he was silent, Reiko was watching too. He watched as Mary Sue was judged, just like they were every day they lived. He watched, and saw as she was found wanting.

The words tore into her, smothering her final scream as she was annihilated in an instant, erased by a power greater than her own, a power beyond fiction. Because in the end, the truth, that thing she preached to them. The truth, was people liked them, and they _hated_ her.

Seeing it all come to an end, Reiko breathed out. _It is over_, he thought, content. He did not breathe in again.

Arson, felt something let go. Turning away from the sight of their true victory, his eyes darkened. "No… Reiko?" he whispered hoarsely.

Zone turned as he ran to the vampire's side, dropping to his knees and cradling his head. "Oh, _shit_" he said, walking over slowly, with reverent trepidation. He knew the truth though, it was too late; he was having to take a small detour to avoid the prematurely scattered remains of his friend. By the time he reached Arson, the teenager was sobbing uncontrollably against the fallen warrior's cheek. Zone opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. "_Reiko_" he uttered eventually. He closed his eyes, but the tears came anyway.

"_No_" Arson cried. "No, this isn't how it ends! This isn't what you get for _saving everyone_!" he yelled out in protest against the world. He was part angel, but Reiko was beyond his power. He was beyond them. _Gone_.

While this was happening, the rifts in fiction were repairing themselves, the process now almost completed. Just as the last rip sealed shut, a droplet of light fell through, and drifted down like a feather. It floated, as if drawn towards the three comrades, and gently settled on Reiko's forehead unnoticed, sinking into it quietly.

With one incandescent moment of light, Reiko was whole again, and breathed. Why? Because you want him to. Because too many people don't want to see him die. Because he was touched by a power beyond his world. A power over life and death, pain and joy, good and evil. A power we all have, in their world.

"… Reiko?" Arson whispered in awe, as he felt the body in his arms move.

"Yeah?" came the answer, dizzy, but full and real and his.

"You were dead…" the hybrid whispered in disbelief.

"Well, technically I still am" Reiko gave a weak grin as he said this.

Arson just hugged him then; there were no words for it. He hugged with all the youthful enthusiasm that filled his soul, and nearly started crying again when Reiko returned the gesture.

Zone watched, sniffing back the tears that had been flowing, "Hey, you had me, worried there, you know?".

Reiko looked over Arson's shoulder to the hamster. "Really?" he asked openly.

"_Yeah_, really" Zone replied honestly. "I do care about you guys, after all" he added, and not able to bear the familiar, awkward silence that loomed ready to dive on them, he scrambled into and joined the group hug…


	30. Epilogue

_**Author's Notes:** Here we go, the final part to Original Crisis. I'd like to thank every single person who read this; you are the ones who make this all worth writing, especially those of you who have been generous enough to stick with me through the chapters. I've had a truly fantastic time writing this thanks to you, and have both lived one dream and taken a step towards fulfilling even bigger dreams. My greatest wish is that anyone who reads this can experience at least some of the fun I had writing it, not because it's some special masterpiece or anything, but just because, I think that's what this kind of writing is about, you know :D? Most special thanks of all to bustahead, for letting me use her characters Arson and Reiko, and Hade. She's an awesome writer and even moreso an awesome friend and person, so, thanks for making this possible at all, busta :).  
_----  
Reiko held his nose tightly shut with one hand, and the offending nappy in the other as he carried it with a kind of reverent terror to the sanitary bin. Discarding the object, he turned back to its producer, grabbing a fresh diaper and getting to work replacing the old one.

He supposed most would expect that having saved the world he would demand some allowances with such, menial tasks. And it was true this; task he found _especially_ menial, but, he didn't save the world because he wanted it to owe him one. He did so because he believed it to be worth saving, the way it is, even if it could be better. Thus here he was in the middle of the afternoon finishing the community service time that he was doing for Vlad. He took honest satisfaction in doing something, even if he didn't enjoy it, because it needed doing. He was where he was needed. And, judging by the nearby escalating crying, he was needed, _badly_…

----

Meanwhile, at the Temen-Ni-Gru, things were getting back to chaos as orderly as possible. After the issue of replacing their costumes and other details, Dante and Vergil had put aside their differences long enough to thank the trio for saving the fandom formally. Zone would never, ever forget the expression on the elder son of Sparda's face as he was honour-bound to thank a hamster. Shortly after, arrangements were made for Arson, Reiko and Zone, who had been healed up by supernatural means (naturally), to leave, while Dante and Vergil did their best to continue with the canon by taunting one another about the various unspeakable horrors they'd seen the other subjected to (literally, unspeakable, this story would be removed if we spoke of them), until they broke into a fight. As the trio left they passed Lady going the other way, who Zone was able to get to shoot at him without even pausing in stride with a very immaturely-mature flirt. Arkham was also on his way, and when they pointed out Jester had been killed, he replied that he'd been working on his own comic routine. He showed off his comic smile, which sent Arson running, screaming from the tower…

----

Speaking of Arson, he was sat in front of the TV playing the computer when Reiko came back, having done his remaining five hours of service. Walking into the room, having hung up his coat, he bent down, and was about to ask Arson what he was playing. Then he saw the blazing inferno on the screen, "The Sims again?".

"Hahah, wrong!" the hybrid cried, and before Reiko could interject, he grabbed the game case and showed it to him. Reiko looked at the title, which read _Sims 2_.

"I stand corrected" Reiko laughed, noticing that the people burning to death were doing so with a lot more personality and animation than the last time. "Well, as long as it's fun. Where's Zone" he asked curiously.

"I dunno, he said he had something to take care of and would be back soon" Arson answered distractedly.

"He did? I wonder what he's doing?" Reiko mused…

----

The grass was faded green, partially because of the low mist that seemed to cling to it. Hanging motionless, impaled on the limp blades, it resembled a thick, grey carpet. Around him, were tombstones, Zone walking through the rows on his hind paws, his front pair occupied. It was hard to sense direction here, but… There.

Coming to the spot he looked out over the crest of the gently sloping hill, seeing the countless graves of the forgotten. It was not a special spot by any grand means, presenting a good view, and little else. Only to him did it hold any true significance, as it was where he had stood, when he first felt terror at being in this place.

Now, he was here willingly, no longer afraid. He had a task to do, so, he started, taking a couple of minutes with what he'd brought. Then, he stood back, admired it for a moment, and left, going back to his friends…

Behind him, two blue roses formed a Z with a plaque, on which was engraved "_Loved dreams, never die_"…


End file.
